MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. — Brevard County leaders have agreed to make changes in front of a Melbourne Beach school after Spectrum News 13 showed them a problem with the school drop-off area.

What You Need To Know

  • Laura Dowling-Roy says a drop-off makes it difficult to park in front of Gemini Elementary School

  • Melbourne Beach agreed to taper the edge to smooth the drop-off

  • Brevard County says the school district needs to provide additional paved parking areas for parents

Laura Dowling-Roy said when she wants to drop off her son at Gemini Elementary School, she parks off on the side of Oak Street in front of the school. But all that parent parking on the shoulder has created a drop-off.

“When you come to drop the kids off at school, there’s this big drop, and it has been this way quite some time. No one knows who to contact,” she said. “It’s really hard on your vehicle and then when you leave, you have to go real fast to go over the bump.”

Even though it’s not the jurisdiction of Melbourne Beach, the town’s Public Works Director Tom Davis agreed to taper the edge of the road. And sure enough, his crew did do that.

But Dowling-Roy is worried a rain storm could once again wash away the sand and rocks.

“Ideally, I would like it paved,” said Dowling-Roy.

Brevard County’s Assistant Director of Public Works Susan Jackson said the drop-off is creating unsafe conditions and more needs to be done than just paving the shoulders.

“This use has not only started to damage our pavement, it has destroyed the grass and base material that helps stabilize the unpaved shoulders, thereby creating an unsafe condition (drop-off),” said Jackson in an email. “In my opinion, the school needs to work with the county to provide additional paved parking areas for parents that need to drop-off/pickup their children. And this would need to be funded by the BPS (Brevard Public Schools). Given the heavy vehicular use in this area, 1-2ft paved shoulders may not hold up over time if current right of way conditions remain the same.”  

A spokesperson for Brevard Public Schools told Spectrum News that officials are working with the county on a solution, but in the meantime, they recommend parents use the school’s car loop, which is paved and doesn’t pose the same problem.

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