Parking Lot Changes Improve Traffic Flow

A new weight room, new bell schedule, and a new office area were made to the high school before the 2020 school year started; one of the most noticeable and controversial changes was a new parking lot structure.

The changes made to the parking lot traffic flow included the parent drop off area, moving it to the back off the school. The buses now dropping off and picking up students from the front of the school, altering the entrance and exit for students who park in the school parking lot.

“The new traffic pattern initiated this school year has been a huge success,” Superintendent Jeffery Walters said in a press release. “The bus drivers from our contracted transportation company are extremely grateful for the designated bus lane and are thrilled at how well it is working.”

These changes were made to help the congestion and safety risks presented at the four-way stop on Cedar Street and Monroe Avenue.

Walters feels this change has been needed to help navigate the traffic flow. “By creating drop off/pick up spots in the back of the building, and having any parents waiting in the drive on campus, it has taken them off the road,” Walters said.

NO PARKING signs were recently added to the streets surrounding the high school.

The City of Hartford partnered with the school to help make these changes. “It wasn’t about too many cars on the streets, it was about the location of the cars near the driveways into the campus,” Walters said.

Senior Jalynn Nanez has parked in the student parking lot for two years now and finds it difficult to enter and exit the lot. “The new parking lot is very hectic and it seems like no drivers know what they are doing,” Nanez said.

The prices were lowered for both the main parking lot and the lot across from the school this year to help encourage more students to park in the school parking lots rather than on the streets.

“By lowering the cost to park, we wanted to take away a barrier to students parking on campus,” Walters said. “We have sold more passes this year.”

Senior Nicholas Skaalen found lowering the price successfully brought more cars into the parking lot. “It was a good idea because if we go online we will save money,” Skaalen said. “It makes it more justifiable to purchase the pass.”