Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS -- Some residents in the Heritage Heights subdivision have won a minor victory in their fight against an overflow of parking by Heritage High School students.

Resident Don Meyer has complained for several years that Heritage High School students will not buy a parking pass to use the parking lot at the high school, and instead will park along Patriot Court and walk across Granade Road to the high school.

The problem, he said, is that so many students park their vehicles on the road and in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street that residents cannot enter or exit their own driveways. He said this is also a problem for emergency vehicles, which have had difficulty responding to calls in the neighborhood.

Meyer said that when confronted, some of the students are rude or threatening.

Additionally, Meyer said he and other residents of the neighborhood have seen what appear to be drug transactions taking place between students who park their cars on the residential street.

"My wife and I have seen law enforcement officers chasing students through our subdivision coming from the school and have seen an officer draw his weapon," Meyer said.

Meyer said he believes students are parking along Patriot Court for two primary reasons: Students do not want to pay the required fee to park in the school parking lot and, cars parked on school property are subject to searches.

"Contraband is the issue," he said. "In Georgia, if they're caught, not only will they face criminal penalty, but they will also lose their driver's license."

Meyer has taken his complaints to the administration at Heritage High School, Rockdale County Public School system and the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office. Unfortunately, there was little that could be done -- until now.

Rockdale County Commissioners on Tuesday passed a resolution establishing a No Parking zone at the main entrance on Patriot Court and in the cul-de-sac.

Miguel Valentin, Rockdale County's director of transportation, said the county will install No Parking signs at both ends of the street and paint the curbs to designate the No Parking zone.

The zone with be enforced by the Sheriff's Office.

"Now that we have this enforcement arm available to us, I believe the problem will go away, " said Sheriff Jeff Wigington.

Meyer said he is "more than satisfied" with the solution, but fears more problems may be just around the corner.

"Some of them have started parking on the next street over, on Liberty," Meyer said.