Leadership to build new plan to alleviate traffic congestion

As the clock ticks 7:47 a.m., cars rush into the congested parking lot, allowing little room for movement or flow. Students walking across the lot struggle to squeeze through the few available gaps. Parents disregard rules and drive in opposite directions, anything to get their child to class on time. Upperclassmen honk in frustration, unable to park or exit the backed-up line of parents.

The late bell rings 3 minutes later, and the commotion ceases, followed by a long period of serenity with few moving cars in the lot. But six hours later, school lets out, and the chaos starts all over again.

Over the years, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to fix the daily parking lot traffic. This year, Leadership plans on taking a new approach to help solve the riddle of too many cars in one place at one time.

Leadership co-president senior Mounika Narayan said Leadership is creating a committee to help organize the logistics for dealing with traffic in the morning. She said the biggest problem is that parents stop to drop their kids off in a lot where only students should be parking.

Junior Chester Leung, a member of Leadership, said increased signage and more people directing traffic are possible solutions. Leung thinks that based on current progress in planning, the traffic improvements should be in action by the end of first semester.

In addition to solving the parent-related issues, Leadership hopes to alleviate other concerns such as students speeding.

To address this issue, Leadership may consider getting parent volunteers in the parking lot to regulate speed, Narayan said.

“We are still unsure of the exact measures we are going to take regarding these issues, but we are planning to do something to help,” Narayan said.