Road Changes Lead to New Parking

Road Changes Lead to New Parking

Laura Doughton, Online Editor

By Laura Doughton

 

Northwest Boulevard was closed for three weeks over the summer while it underwent some major changes. Before, there was parallel parking on both sides of the street. Now, drivers must back into angled parking spots near Bryson Gym. A median was also added to divide the lanes of traffic and to give students a place to pause while crossing the street.

   These changes were made in order to create a safer pedestrian environment, specifically for the students of Wiley Middle School and Reynolds High School. The fence along the west side, across from Bryson, prevents Reynolds students from crossing in undesignated areas. For Wiley, there is a new traffic pattern for parents dropping off and picking up their students.

   Around campus the perception of the changes varies. Many Reynolds students think the new parking is difficult, while the school faculty sees the advantages, including safety. Sophomore Jane Crowley has tried the new parking and does not think it is efficient.

   “It has been very difficult, especially when you’re holding up all the people behind you and you’re trying to back into it and you don’t want to hit anyone and you don’t want to jam up or cause traffic,” Crowley said.

   The new parking system was put in so that it would be easier to leave the parking spot. For some, such as senior Belle Moccia, the trouble backing in is not worth the ease of pulling out.

   “The drivers on that road are more aggressive than you’d believe so when a car tries to reverse park they can never do it without impatient drivers trying to pass them in the process, making the whole thing much more hazardous than the old parking,” Moccia said.

   Tyler Billings, football coach and gym teacher, thinks the parking takes some time to adjust to but in the end it’s worth it.

   “We saw multiple student accidents last year,” Billings said. “The median, I think, is the best thing from preventing people from doing u-turns. It’s inconvientant but I do think it’s safer.”

   Billings, like others, is concerned about drivers rear ending each other because they aren’t paying attention and passing when someone is backing in. He admits that it is difficult at first and that he has it easier than most.

   “I get here before most people so it’s easy for me to back in,” Billings said. “The students are having a big time, are struggling with it big time. I think for the more experienced drivers it’s easy to back in.”

   The median prevents drivers from making u-turns and changes the flow of traffic near Wiley. Some say this, in addition to the parking, is causing the road to be more congested and harder to access.

   “I think it was good to redo the road and all but putting a median makes it really hard to pick up people after practices and since you can’t go back the other way and you can’t do a u-turn going the other direction and there’s not a light, like a protected left turn, it makes it really hard to turn left onto Reynolda Road,” Crowley said.

   For now, students can be advised to keep practicing the reverse parking and adjust to not being able to u-turn, because these changes are here to stay.

Photo Provided by Fox 8