To the Editor:
I have a high-schooler at the new campus. We drive 24 miles one way and that takes us approximately an hour.
Most of that travel is on U.S. 301. Between the normal rush hour traffic, the new campus traffic and the Middleton construction traffic, 301, Warm Springs and Marsh Bend are inundated with heavy traffic. There are accidents regularly. Not only is this excessive traffic dangerous for experienced drivers, but even more so for students who drive. We’re piling them onto an already overwhelmed road system, without the years of driving knowledge we, as parents have developed. Is anything being done to address these issues with traffic? Off the top of my head, I have several suggestions.
Construction could easily have allowed hours for travel that fit outside the school driving times.
U.S. 301 and Marsh Bend could definitely use widening to add more lanes for smoother traffic flow. Lights could be timed more appropriately to ease stop-and-go congestion. TVCS could adjust their bell schedule to be more in line with local schools. (There are no others nearby, so that wouldn’t add to public school traffic.) First period could be a free period, for students to catch up on work and arrive within that block. They could avoid a specific time rush and tardies.
Hopefully these issues have already been brought up and are being addressed. My hope is that there is a swift and efficient solution.
Robyn Cimiotta
Summerfield
