Brunswick Planning Commission approves detailed site plan for improvements at Applewood Elementary School

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick City Schools is one step closer to making site improvements at Applewood Elementary School. Brunswick Planning Commission approved the detailed site plan for the project during its meeting Thursday. The improvements comprise a drive and a parking lot off of Laurel Road, which will stage parent pickup and drop-off and operate as a regular parking lot for after-school activities. "Our goal with the site revisions is to improve the safety for the students, parents and staff at the Applewood Elementary School site by separating bus drop-off and parent drop-off traffic," Scott Alleman from ThenDesign Architecture said. "Currently, everybody comes in off of Applewood, and everyone's using the same driveway circulation. (There are) many circulation issues that result in safety hazards." The planning commission tabled the project during a meeting in February. Therefore, the district presented a revised plan which incorporated the commission's feedback from the previous meeting. The parking lot was reduced by 22 spots on the east side of the site, so there will only be 56 new spots, Alleman said. A one-way drive was also removed from the plan. "(It) provides a safer, slower transition as parents exiting that site come around the bend," he said. "We've reduced the asphalt paving by about 4,500 square feet." At the previous meeting, the commission also expressed its desire to see a sidewalk for pedestrians on the site, but a sidewalk was not included in the new plan. Alleman said after looking at various sidewalk options, it was determined the safest place to cross is at the apron with a stop bar, stop sign and a crossing guard instead. Brunswick Vice Mayor Nick Hanek said during public comment he feels the site improvements are unnecessary and will create more traffic on Laurel Road rather than solve a problem. "We're taking away a baseball field," he said. "We're taking a green space and putting a big, impervious surface. It goes against what the city is trying to do." The project at Applewood is funded by a bond issue that passed in the May 2023 election. The bond issue aims to complete a district facilities master plan by building a new Brunswick High School, board of education office, maintenance facility and more. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.