With the new Christopher High School on Day Road fast becoming a
reality, the standard and usual concerns about traffic are
streaming from area residents.
With the new Christopher High School on Day Road fast becoming a reality, the standard and usual concerns about traffic are streaming from area residents.
It can’t be said with certainty until the school opens this coming fall that there won’t be any major traffic issues, but the design to control and limit problems appears to be solid.
That said, the community should expect the school district and police department to use the watch, learn and adapt model employed when Las Animas Elementary School opened. There’s nothing quite like a superintendent and a police chief to be on scene monitoring and helping out when the cars come streaming in.
Adjustments that will smooth flow and streamline entrance and egress are inevitable.
Meanwhile, neighbors should take heart. For starters, Principal John Perales is responsive and has publicly pledged to make the opening as smooth as possible and, more importantly, to respond to concerns. His lengthy track record bears this out.
Secondly, the school will open with freshman and sophomores only, so there will be time to make changes before the parking lots really begin to fill up the following year.
In addition, parents should encourage students – especially those in the Northwest Quad – to walk to school. That’s the whole point of the foot bridge. And, besides being good exercise, it’s the “green” thing to do.
The addition of a high school will mean traffic changes. But let’s keep in mind the greater good, too – a better education for our children.
