Ensuring Safety For Everyone
The administration takes action to change the flow of traffic within the parking lot
The entrance closest to QT, has been closed during afternoon rush times for the safety of the students and parents driving everyday.
October 19, 2018
Every school’s parking lot causes some type of traffic issue but one of the most important aspects is to maintain the safety of students, parents and staff.
In eighth period on Oct. 16, Mr. Nelson came over the intercom with an announcement stating that only one exit will be open due to recent accidents. They decided to close the entrance closest to QT, which includes afternoon rush times for the safety of the students and parents driving everyday. However, this does exclude the parent pick up/drop off. The administrative staff is deciding to try a new solution in order to reduce the amount of accidents that have been occurring.
Assistant principal Mr. Kiesel says he hopes this will minimize the amount of accidents, “even if it might take five minutes longer to get out of the parking lot. If we stop accidents and save you from getting hurt, it’s worth it.”
The traffic officer, Renee Dettmer, also realizes the risk of accidents and does everything she can to prevent them. It’s been her fourth year working at Liberty and she only wants protection for all students.
“I hope it will save a life. We have had some pretty bad accidents and it has always been up there on that hill,” Dettmer said.
There’s an indefinite time of how long this exit will last, but in the summer time, the administration is planning on re-evaluating to figure out a new system to reroute traffic. This might include a new road.
There’s talk of a possible traffic light in place for next year, as well; this has been in the works for about six or seven years, according to the administration. It’s important to maintain the flow of traffic, even if leaving the parking lot takes five or six minutes longer. It’s all to save and protect the lives of parents and students.
“I think of traffic like water in a pipe,” Mr. Nelson said. “The reason why it gets so congested is at rush hour times, morning and afternoon, there is more water trying to flow through pipes and the pipes are only so big. That’s a problem. Everybody just says why don’t we put in traffic lights. I can’t put in a traffic light, even if I wanted to. It took me over two years just to get the school zone signs. There is going to be a road that will eventually have the buses rerouted through it and it will have an entrance and an exit, but it’s not going to open till next year.”
There’s hope that the new road will open next year, as well as the construction of the fourth high school.
Mr. Nelson and the rest of the school administration are taking action to improve the current system than what it already is. While there have been some long-term solutions that have been discussed, the school is striving to fix it for now.
