How To: Drop Off In the Mornings
NEIRAD enilno edition
One aspect of going back to school many do not look forward to is the long lines of traffic that greet them first thing in the morning. “It’s very stressful in the mornings because so many parents are trying to get their kids to school on time,” junior Katie Maccarone said. Ever been late to class because of the unavoidable traffic that spreads all around the oval? Every morning from approximately 7:25a to 7:50a long lines of cars pile up to drop students off who do not take the bus. As DHS commuters know waiting in that dreadful line spanning out to Leroy Avenue can take up to 10 extra minutes in bumper-to-bumper gridlock.
Then there is another factor contributing to this automotive bottleneck. Parents who refuse to honor the rules to let their children off at the designated drop points. They try to short cut the waiting time by stopping in the middle of the road by the library and letting their kids off. All the cars must then wait while the child gets their things out of the car. Instead parents are supposed to drive all the way around to the back by the gym and tennis courts where a drop-off point has been designated for safety and maximum traffic flow. Students who do get dropped off at these first or second crosswalks by the library side of the building create a lot of unnecessary traffic because it stops the flow of cars in and out of the parking lot. (They don’t get dropped off at the first crosswalk directly in front of the library if security guard Jim Smith is standing there though!)
Almost every student at DHS knows Jim Smith; he is one of the school’s most respected security guards. Every morning Mr Smith is in charge of controlling the traffic in front of the library. However, many parents are able to counteract this notion by pulling ahead of Mr Smith where they think he will not catch them dropping their child off at the second crosswalk.
Jim says this situation is as an “accident waiting to happen.” Not only do parents break the rules by dropping their kids off at the wrong spot but some go all the way to pull into the nearby parking spaces and pull a U-turn. “It affects traffic the most when parents drop off at the second crosswalk, some people pass by but others turn around and go the other way, causing traffic jams,” Mr Smith said.
The later in the morning it gets, the worse the traffic situation becomes. Jim explains that often when students are running late, the parents begin to stop by the library entrance even more often. “It does back traffic up. Those waiting in the line will be late because of the parents dropping their kids off by the library entrance,” Mr. Smith said.
Then there is the second bottleneck in front of the building. Instead of driving 20 more feet ahead, students disembark directly in front of the entrance to save themselves walking the extra 20 feet. This slows down the traffic largely because parents don’t pull up all the way and thus don’t use the extra space given to them.
“My mom spends 40 minutes every morning and afternoon dropping me off and picking me up,” junior Katie Lineberger said. Not only does traffic accumulate in the mornings, but in the afternoon, traffic often becomes almost equally dreadful. Junior Katie Dee explains how parents, even after school hours, pull their cars up directly in front of the school. “Once my mom was in line to pick me up from school and there was a parent who was stopped right in front of the school. A huge line of cars was behind her but she was talking on her phone and didn’t seem to realize all of the traffic she was causing just from staying parked in front of the school.” Senior Lauren Mazzoli confirms how “it’s really annoying”, when parents don’t use up the extra space given to them in the drop off line in the front of the school.
With school back in session, students, teachers and the security guards hope somehow the morning and afternoon traffic will flow better if parents start to follow the rules. The proper way to drop off students is for parents to drive all the way up the straightaway in the front of the school instead of pulling directly in front of the school. And for those of you who get dropped off towards the gym parking lots, it’s recommended that students get dropped off in front of the gym, not on the crosswalks in front of the library. These changes can potentially lessen the traffic, so spread the word!
