SOUTHWICK – With construction ongoing at Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional High School, traffic woes plagued the first week of school.
Police Chief David Ricardi met prior to school opening with Superintendent John Barry, administrators, Safety Officer Kirk Sanders and the school transportation department to try to make drop-off and pick-up run smoothly at the school. Ricardi said there were several glitches, mainly caused by too many students being dropped off.
“The buses were not running the way we thought,” said Ricardi. “They were not full because so many kids who should have been on a bus were dropped off by parents.”
A drop-off system was established to ensure student safety and keep congestion at the top of the hill in front of school to a minimum.
“Students need to be dropped off at the bottom of the hill and walk about 125 feet to the school,” said Ricardi. “Only those with parking passes, staff and buses should be going to the top.”
Ricardi said parents trying to go up the hill caused a traffic jam. An officer stationed at the school explained the reasoning for the system to parents, many of whom argued with police.
“Many people were not as understanding as we would have liked,” Ricardi said. “If people did what we needed them to, we wouldn’t have had the traffic jam that we did – motorists just trying to drive by were stuck – and many students were tardy because of this.”
Ricardi said residents also need to follow the rules of the road, especially related to school buses.
“Remember, these vehicles are transporting our future leaders, so drive carefully,” he said. “A school bus driver will display yellow lights when they are approaching a bus stop. Once the bus is stopped, the driver will activate the red lights and extend the stop sign. When the students have safely exited, the bus driver will deactivate the red lights and stop sign.”
Ricardi said he hopes everyone will cooperate throughout the school year.
“If parents do not want their children taking the bus for some reason, they should leave earlier to drop them off,” Ricardi said. “Or, they could take the bus that the taxpayers pay for. With cooperation we’ll get through it.”
