TAUNTON Families going to Taunton High School football games will find a new pickup spot, a campus road closed to cars from 5 p.m. and a reversed exit route after the game, starting with Friday's home game against Franklin, Taunton Public Schools told caregivers and students Thursday.
The district said the changes are meant "to help keep arrival and dismissal safe and organized." They take effect Friday, Oct. 30, when the Tigers host Franklin at Aleixo Tiger Stadium on the high school campus at 50 Williams St.
Drop-off and pickup
Beginning at 5 p.m., the roadway between the high school and the entrance to the football field, where caregivers may have dropped off students in the past, will be closed to vehicle traffic. Barricades go up at 5 p.m., and detail officers will be on campus to direct traffic, the district said.
Caregivers picking up high school students or band members should use the area in front of Parker Middle School, along the throughway that leads to the auditorium and field house. A traffic map attached to the district's notice, drawn by the Taunton Police Department and dated October 2026, marks that spot as the parent and band pickup. The map also shows five barricades and detail officers posted at several points around the campus.
Leaving after the game
Fans are asked to leave the stadium promptly after the game, go straight to their cars or the student pickup area and not gather near the concession stand.
Drivers parked in the baseball lot will leave by following the roadway toward the softball field. That roadway will run opposite its usual one-way direction. Officers will make that switch after kickoff, according to the district's Thursday notice. An earlier version of the notice on the Taunton High athletics website said the reversal would begin at 5 p.m.
Drivers in Lot B and the Parker Middle School lot exit campus toward Williams Street. The police map shows traffic moving one way, counterclockwise, around the school after the game.
Tickets, IDs and bags
The district strongly encourages fans to buy tickets in advance through GoFan, linked from the Taunton High athletics website. Spectators who cannot access the website can buy tickets in person at the game by showing a photo ID.
Every high school-age student, including students from the visiting school, must show a current school-issued ID to get in. Students below high school age must come with an adult, and no drop-offs are allowed. Backpacks and bags of any size are not permitted at the game.
Contacts
The Taunton High School athletics department can be reached at 508-821-1101. Rapheal Dowdye is the athletic director, and John Harrison is the school's principal.
The Taunton Public Schools central office, led by Superintendent John J. Cabral, is at 215 Harris St. and can be reached at 508-821-1100.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from Taunton Public Schools' own notice to caregivers and students, posted Oct. 29 at 1:37 p.m., and the two files attached to it: the Taunton Police Department's traffic plan for the high school and the athletics department's letterhead. The earlier 5 p.m. wording for the baseball lot comes from the version on the Taunton High athletics website. The superintendent's name and the central office address and phone come from the district's home page. We read them all on Oct. 29. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. No student is named.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (6)
- Taunton Public Schools, "THS Football Game Day Entry & Postgame Traffic Updates"The district's notice to caregivers and students: the Oct. 30 start against Franklin, the 5 p.m. barricades and road closure, the Parker Middle School pickup, the baseball lot reversal after kickoff, Lot B and Parker lot exits, tickets, IDs, no drop-offs, no bags. Posted Oct. 29, 2026, 1:37 p.m. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Taunton Police Department, "Taunton High School Traffic Plan," 50 Williams St., dated October 2026 (attached to the district notice)The parent and band pickup spot, five barricades, detail officer posts, the one-way counterclockwise pattern after the game, Aleixo Tiger Stadium. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Taunton High School Athletics Department letterhead (attached to the district notice)The athletics department phone, 508-821-1101, the athletic director and the principal; 50 Williams Street. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Taunton High School Athletics, game day and post game traffic updates (earlier version, listed on the athletics site as the Oct. 26 traffic pattern update)The earlier wording that the baseball lot roadway would reverse beginning at 5 p.m. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Taunton High School Athletics websiteTaunton Tigers Football vs. Franklin, Oct. 30, tickets through GoFan. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Taunton Public Schools home pageSuperintendent John J. Cabral; central office at 215 Harris Street, 508-821-1100. Read Oct. 29, 2026.