Dealing with morning and rush hour traffic is a struggle most can relate to, and there’s no shortage of that here at the middle and high schools. Students, parents, and staff alike have said that traffic is a problem both before and after school, but this isn’t a new complaint.

There have been concerns of student safety, arriving late to school, and making it to after school events on time. Junior Drew Joseph said it takes him “15 minutes to get in there, 15 minutes out.”

“I take my brother to school in the morning and he’s got to be home for golf practice by 3:10,” said Joseph. “I kind of have to race out of school.”

Along with being a chauffeur for siblings, Joseph also has a real job and pays for his own gas, as do many high school students. Joseph says he spends “maybe $20 a week” on gas alone, some of which is used up in the parking lot before and after school waiting for cars to move.

However, not everyone experiences this complication like Joseph does. Some people say they experience little to no waiting in our parking lots.

One of these lucky souls is 8th grader Aidan Rogovin, who says he spends two minutes in traffic. 

But there might be a key difference in Rogovin’s and Joseph’s experiences.

Joseph says he uses the first entrance by the middle school and parks in one of the school’s lots.

While the middle school seems backed up, getting to the high school may be the better option.

Rogovin said he uses the entrance at the high school, where he barely sits in traffic before getting dropped off by his mom.

The middle school and high school entrance might be a huge difference, but what if students don’t drive through either of the entrances?

“I don’t sit in traffic at all,” said junior Cheyenne Lescas, who parks at the baseball fields.

The baseball field parking lot is past the rest of the entrances, so the traffic is minimal. But that means a bit of a walk.

“I’d rather do that than sit in 20 minutes of traffic after or before school,” said Lescas.

The proposed roundabout at the beginning of New Burg Street could help move things along before and after school.

“That’s genius,” Joseph said, “As long as you know how to use a roundabout.”

In the meantime, drivers need to be cooperative and patient to help make the situation better.

“If we were given instructions on how to drive out of a parking lot,” Joseph said. “Like one of those Ace videos where Mr. Hinton is saying that we need to learn how to drive.”