Texas Middle School Child Drop-off and Pick-up is a Nightmare [OPINION]

The first week of student pick-up and drop-off at the Texas Middle School new sixth grade school has been a learning curve for parents.

Drop off on the first day of school gave us a little insight into what traffic was going to be like for picking up. It took 20 minutes to drop off but the pick up that day took an hour. After the first day, they made some changes in traffic and blocked any cars from trying to turn into the school coming from the opposite direction of the traffic flow on Summerhill Road. That was a good improvement, but that means anyone coming from the opposite direction had to figure out how to get turned around and get in line.

Now, drop off and pick up involves police officers to direct traffic on Summerhill Road, and crossing guards as well, which is a great help, but even with that assistance it still took me an hour on Wednesday. Today, I will go later to see if I can save some time.

The businesses on Summerhill Road are suffering, too. Getting in and out of their parking lots between 2:30-3:30PM is very difficult. I had to direct traffic from the cab of my truck to help folks get out of the parking lot near where I was sitting for about 45 minutes. It was stressful.

On paper, it looks like a great plan. It is laid out perfectly. I guess there are just so many kids in a two-block radius, coupled with the normal traffic in that area, that it just makes it a very difficult situation.

I am very excited about the school but not so thrilled about the traffic. Hopefully there will be some adjustments to help the flow of traffic move faster.