As new stores pop up at the intersection of Highway N, Sommers Road, and Ronald Reagan Dr., it’s clear that the surrounding environment is continuously changing. These changes affect staff and students in various ways, from added excitement to new questions.
One known fact about the stores at the nearby intersection is that they are popular, especially among students.
Connor Velleca (12), like other students, works at the Chick-fil-A built near the intersection. With new development around every corner, the daily lives of community members are impacted, changing day-to-day life.
“Many students usually stop by, especially on game days, and during concerts or any big event happening around the town. And, it’s not just LHS students –students from other schools come, too,” Velleca said.
With new development comes more customers, many who are a part of the school body. For many students, new businesses allow for more purchases before and after school.
“Stores being so close to school is more convenient. After school, for example, it’ll be easier for people to hang out,” Lydia Davis (11) said.
As business has continued to boom around this intersection, there have also been changes to further accommodate longer lines at certain times of the day.
“Before there was the stoplight, it would get really busy with just the stop sign, and people would get backed up down the road. Now that we have the stoplight, it’s definitely a lot smoother,” Davis said.
Lydia Davis (11) said. (Jay Dieye)
Others would argue that the new development creates more complications. Though the stores are popular among members of the school body, a result of frequent business is worse traffic in the area. Unresolved issues at the intersection have resulted in concerns from many drivers.
“I now have to take a different route to get here otherwise I won’t make it on time. I avoid that intersection like the plague,” Ryan Barnes (staff) said.
Even with a stoplight being added to one side of the intersection, the stoplight is not in time with the stoplight for people turning left off of Highway N and onto Sommers Road, causing people to be held up in the intersection and block the normal flow of traffic.
“The stores are fine. You’re never going to stop progress,” Barnes said. However, the safety and efficiency of driving is a problem that has become more serious as a result of the development of the area around the intersection.
“There aren’t enough ways for kids to get out of the school, and the parent pick-up line backs all the way up to Highway N, too. Until we get this figured out, it’s going to continue to cause issues,” Barnes said.
