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Cars ignore parking rules, students jaywalk during chaotic Washington High School pick-up time

On 23rd Avenue, community members say they're worried a student will get hit due to chaos on the road after the final bell rings
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PHOENIX — It starts around 2 p.m. every school day like clockwork: despite 23rd Avenue being lined with signs saying 'No Stopping' during school hours on school days, dozens of cars begin to stop and wait for the final bell to ring at Washington High School.

Even as stopped cars sit under the signs, marked Phoenix police cars drive by and keep going.

Parents in the pick-up line say they’ve never been told to leave.

“Yeah, I’m not supposed to park," Amber Sandlin said.

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One man, Dirk Harvo, who lives in the nearby neighborhood, is fed up with the situation.

“I see cars flying by," Harvo said.

He says he doesn't so much care about the fact that cars are stopping, which is against the rules, but he cares deeply about the safety issue he says it causes for students.

“Twice I have almost hit somebody," Harvo said. "Like look at this car, going way too fast, right past the school. If someone popped out in front of it, there’d be no way to keep from hitting them.”

When school lets out, the problem Harvo describes unfolds immediately.

Hundreds of kids are constantly walking out into the road. There are no crosswalks or any guards controlling traffic, and students cross to get into the cars picking them up, to go to a food stand, or walk into the neighborhood across the street. Some cross back to head into school again after getting food, shooting the gaps between the oncoming traffic.

Washington High School pickup danger

Washington High School is part of the Glendale Union High School District (GUHSD) but is located in the City of Phoenix.

We reached out to both GUHSD and Phoenix Police Department on Thursday, asking to interview representatives about the safety situation on 23rd Avenue.

A GUHSD spokesperson gave us a statement saying: "With 1,800 students at any high school, pick-up time does present challenges. We have taken steps to improve the process, including adjusting traffic patterns into the parking lot to enhance the flow and reduce congestion. We remain committed to ensuring the safety of our students and will continue monitoring the situation closely to identify and implement further improvements as needed."

GUHSD did not specifically respond to questions asking if the district has given guidance to parents picking up students from school to not stop on 23rd Avenue, or if they have reached out to Phoenix PD to ask them to enforce the signage.

Phoenix PD has not yet responded to our email or our questions about why the posted rules on 23rd Avenue are not being enforced.

Harvo says he has tried to raise the alarm on his own.

“They look at me like I’m crazy," Harvo said. "They just don’t care.”

He's hoping one last plea for safety will finally bring change.

"I thought, if I don’t say anything and something does happen, I’ll feel bad because I could have said something," Harvo said.

Harvo reached out to us about this problem by contacting our Operation Safe Roads tip line. To get in touch, email us at Roads@abc15.com.