No-parking zone proposed near middle school
- Alexandria School Board approved a resolution asking Douglas County to create a no-parking zone along McKay Avenue. - The restriction would apply during school hours in front of Discovery Middle School to improve student safety. - If approved, the change would support a planned sidewalk and ease school traffic; Douglas County must decide. (echopress.com)
The Alexandria School Board voted April 20 to ask Douglas County for a school-hours no-parking zone on McKay Avenue in front of Discovery Middle School. (echopress.com) The request would ban parking from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days along the stretch in front of the school at 510 McKay Ave. N. The measure still needs approval from Douglas County, which controls the road. (echopress.com) (meetings.boardbook.org) School officials tied the change to a planned sidewalk project on McKay Avenue and to traffic flow during drop-off and pickup. The district said removing parked cars would improve sightlines for drivers and students near the building entrance. (echopress.com) Discovery Middle School serves grades 6 through 8 and enrolled 898 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to federal data. The campus is on McKay Avenue in Alexandria, a Douglas County road corridor that already carries school traffic. (nces.ed.gov) The parking request lands amid a broader local push to make student travel safer around Alexandria schools. A 2024 Safe Routes to School plan for Alexandria included Discovery Middle School and examined infrastructure changes for walking and biking near campuses. (greenstep.pca.state.mn.us) McKay Avenue has also been the focus of other county work near the school. In August 2025, Douglas County commissioners approved a new CPKC railroad crossing just south of Discovery Middle School and added speed-limit signs on McKay between County State Aid Highway 23 and Eighth Avenue. (douglascountymn.gov) The school board’s action was a request, not a final rule. Douglas County will decide whether the no-parking zone goes up, and whether McKay Avenue in front of the middle school changes before the next school year. (echopress.com)
