SUMNER — More parking spaces will be added at the Hartford-Sumner Elementary School this month to eliminate the need for people to park along Route 219 across from the school.

“It’s a safety issue,” Scott Holmes, director of buildings, grounds and transportation for Regional School Unit 10, said Thursday. “Everybody said, ‘Look, we’ve got this issue; we really should do something about it.’”

The gravel parking area beside the highway is not district property.

Selectpersons, school personnel and RSU 10 directors have expressed concern about people crossing the highway to drop off and pick up students.

Workers will pave part of the once grassy area near the driveway for 12 angled parking spaces. A lane for buses with movable barriers and a center lane for traffic will be created on the circular drive in front of the school. Also, a crosswalk will be painted on the driveway in front of the main entrance, with a stop sign in front of the crosswalk, Holmes said.

The work will be completed before classes begin Aug. 28 for the 309 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.