Greenmen Way needs a makeover

Picture this: It’s 7:30 Monday morning. The sun is shining, the temperature is perfect, and you had a great weekend. You’re driving into school, listening into your favorite music, and you’re ready to conquer the week.

Then you hit traffic.

No matter how you look at, it’s a struggle getting into school in the morning. If you’re parking in the gold lot or going to Harmon, you have to wait behind cars and buses for what seems like eternity.

If you park in the blue lot, you have less of a wait behind other vehicles, but still need to wait for the perfect time to dart across the crosswalk-and watch to make sure distracted drivers don’t cut in front of you.

If you ride the bus, the wait to turn on to the single road leading into the school can last forever. But, that’s compounded by the wait behind cars stuck in traffic once you get the chance to make that turn. Depending on when your bus makes it to school, you could be left with mere minutes to make it to class.

If you get dropped off at school, you’re also in for a load of issues. The drop-off line is meant to be quick, but the speed at which the line moves is similar to how fast a snail moves- and typically the line is stuck at a standstill. If the clock is inching closer towards 7:40 and you’re still stuck at the back of the line, you have no choice to cross the line in order to make it to class on time. Be careful if you do, as drivers frequently break out and create their own lines, then speed to get out after their child exits the vehicle.

Everyone has to deal with problems getting into the school. These aren’t just issues that affect whether or not someone is tardy, they’re issues that involve safety. If drivers aren’t extremely aware of their surroundings, they could collide with students rushing to class or parents who are already late to work.

The easiest solution is to repave and implement specific lanes for turning, buses, and continuing straight. While it may be costly, it will increase the flow of traffic, avoiding a need for cars to race through parking lots in order to stay on schedule.

In addition, there should be a guard posted at all crosswalks. This way, pedestrians won’t have to worry about distracted drivers nearly hitting them as they walk to their destinations. A school resource officer is already stationed near the road in the morning, who could act as a crossing guard during the morning rush.

The safety of students, parents, bus drivers, and all who travel Greenmen Way during weekday mornings needs to be a priority. Mornings can be stressful, but no one should have to worry about the safety of themselves or their loved ones when it comes to the seemingly simple task of getting to school.