Parking and Traffic Flow for the 2025-26 School Year

Welcome Back to School!

We are excited to announce that construction on the new bridge and parking lot at St. John’s Episcopal Church (our next door neighbor) has wrapped up just in time for the new school year, and that 30 new parking spots are available for Thornhill families to use during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup times. 

Even if you have been at the school in past years, please take a look at these updated guidelines and procedures for morning drop-off, afternoon pickup, and parking near the school. We’ll be sure to let you know about any changes through all the usual channels (Parent Square, Konstella, etc.). 
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If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to volunteer with the traffic team – volunteers are always needed! – please talk to Peter Russo (2025-26 traffic coordinator) or email [email protected] .

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Where You Can and Cannot Park (MAP)

1. SLOW YOUR ROLL

• The school zone speed limit is 15mph, and the speed limit everywhere else on Thornhill Drive is 25mph. Please respect those speed limits – both to ensure the safety of the pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers who use Thornhill, and to show the neighborhood that the safety of our kids matters. 
• Thornhill is VERY congested during morning drop-off, and traffic headed towards Highway 13 often backs up. Please give yourself plenty of time to get to school and navigate the traffic so that you’re not endangering our school community and neighborhood by speeding and driving unsafely.

2. MORNING DROP-OFF GUIDELINES

• Morning drop-off to JCC. This year JCC is offering a before-school program, starting at 7:00am.
  • Between 7:00-8:00am, drivers may park in the white curb zone in front of school and leave their cars when dropping their kid(s) off to JCC.
  • Starting at 8:00am, there is no parking in white curb zone, and cars left unattended there are subject to ticketing and towing!
  • After 8:00am, drivers must park in the St. John’s parking lot, or find a legal spot either on Thornhill Drive or a side street (see parking guidelines, below and refer to the map above in the drop down menu).
• Morning drop-off for TK/Kindergarteners. TKers and Kindergarteners must be escorted by their parent/guardian into the schoolyard. 
  • You may enter the schoolyard at Gate C starting at 8:15am and line up on the ramp in front of the main entrance.
  • Do not park in the white curb zone in front of the school; rather, please park in the St. John’s parking lot, or find a legal spot either on Thornhill Drive or a side street (see parking guidelines, below).
• Morning curbside dropoff (a.k.a. “quickdrop”) for 1st-5th graders on THORNHILL DRIVE. Between 8:20-8:40am you may drop your 1st-5th grader(s) off in the white curb zone in front of school. Please adhere to the following guidelines:
  • Follow any instructions from the parent volunteers in yellow vests.
  • Do not let your kid(s) out of the car until you are fully inside the drop-off zone, and your vehicle is parallel to the curb.
  • Once inside the dropoff zone, pull as far forward as you can so that more vehicles may enter.
  • Please make sure your child already has their jacket on and bag packed so that they can exit quickly. If your child needs help zipping up their jacket or backpack, tying a shoe, or unbuckling from the carseat, our friendly parent volunteers can help. Drivers should NOT exit the car, as this slows down the line for everyone else. 
  • Do not park your car or wait in your car in the disabled parking spot in front of the school unless you have a state-issued disabled person placard or license plate.
  • After dropping your kid(s) off, continue to pull forward and exit the drop-off zone at the far end. Visibility is limited, so exiting the dropoff zone early is very dangerous. 
  • If you need to head back toward Mountain Boulevard and the freeway, please continue east (uphill) on Thornhill and make a U-turn at Merriwood Drive. Do not make a U-turn in front of the school. Doing so is unsafe, causes traffic to back up, and may result in a ticket!
• Morning curbside drop-off for 1st-5th graders on ALHAMBRA LANE. A second drop-off zone is at Gate D on Alhambra Lane. The guidelines for Alhambra are a bit different:
  • Enter the church parking lot over the new bridge off Thornhill Drive, which is just east of school. Do not enter the church parking lot from Gouldin Drive, as in past years.
  • Drive up the hill past the new parking area, turn right, go past the teacher reserved parking on your left, and continue right onto Alhambra Drive. Pull forward to Gate D.
  • ‼️ Please be sure not to obstruct the cul-de-sac on Alhambra! Rather, stop at the stop sign just before the cul-de-sac.
  • If possible, please have your kid(s) exit out of the left side of the vehicle. 
  • When exiting back onto Thornhill Drive, please turn right and then make a U-turn at Merriewood Drive if you need to head back toward Mountain Boulevard and the freeway. Turning left onto Thornhill is difficult, and backs up traffic.
  • ‼️ Beware that the bottom of Alhambra Lane between Thornhill Drive and the cul-de-sac is a two-way street. Above the cul-de-sac Alhambra is one-way in the downhill direction, protected with a spike strip.

3. AFTERNOON PICKUP GUIDELINES

• Afternoon pickup for TK/Kindergarteners. As with morning dropoff, TK/Kindergarteners must be escorted off campus by a parent/guardian. 
  • Park in the St. John’s parking lot, or find a legal spot either on Thornhill Drive or a side street. Do not park in the white curb zone in front of the school.
  • You may enter the schoolyard at Gate C starting at 2:15pm (1:10pm on Wednesdays and other minimum days). 
• Afternoon pickup for 1st-5th graders on Thornhill Drive. 
  • You may park at St. John’s or other legal parking spots and walk to the gates to pickup your child.
• Afternoon pickup from JCC.
  • Before 4:00pm, drivers must park in the St. John’s parking lot, or find a legal spot either on Thornhill Drive or a side street (see parking guidelines map). 
  • Cars left unattended in the white curb zone in front of school before 4:00pm are subject to ticketing and towing!
  • After 4:00pm, drivers may park in the white curb zone and leave their cars when picking their kid(s) up from JCC.​

4. GENERAL CAR PARKING INFORMATION
There is no parking in the white curb zone in front of school between 8am-4pm on school days. Violators may be ticketed and towed by the city! People picking up kids got ticketed multiple times by parking enforcement last year!

• If you need to park and walk into school at drop-off or pickup, please either use the new St. John’s parking lot, or find a legal spot either on Thornhill Drive or on a side street at all other times. 
• Be aware when pulling into and out of St. John’s parking lot that you are crossing a very busy sidewalk for school children and our neighbors. 
• Please use the 30 new parking spots at St. John’s only during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup times.
• Do not park anywhere else at St. John’s. Anyone parking there outside of the 30 new spots who does not have a permit will be subject to ticketing and/or towing. See the diagram on the last page.
• When exiting the St. John’s parking lot at a busy time, please consider turning right onto Thornhill Drive and making a U-turn at Merriwood Drive if you need to head back toward Mountain Boulevard and the freeway. 
• Besides a handful of parking spots in front of MCPC, there is otherwise no parking on Thornhill Drive directly across the street from school. 

5. CYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS
We encourage biking and walking whenever that's an option for your family!

• Whether you biked, parked and walked, or walked all the way, you can drop your kid(s) off at Gates A and C in the morning, and pick them up at Gates A, B, and C in the afternoon. 
• If you ride a cargo bike to school, you may park it in the barricaded area in front of Gate C during morning dropoff and afternoon pickup times. Please do not block the sidewalk with your bike. 
• There is a bike rack in the schoolyard, just inside of Gate C, for anyone who needs to park their bike at school for a longer period of time. 

​​Questions? Suggestions? Want to Help?
Please contact Peter Russo, PFC Traffic Coordinator at [email protected]