Traffic, an unwanted disease plaguing the last few peaceful moments before our mandatory duties, manifests itself at Walton Verona High School’s morning drop-off. Vehicles line School Road on the way to bring students in the mornings, making the street unusable and inevitably backing up the turn lane on Mary Grubbs Highway. The wait allows time for drivers to become impatiently curious as to the cause of the routine-disrupter. Symptoms began to increase with the new start time and the introduction of the new intermediate school. Diving into the diagnosis from the unwanted condition of the parking lot from 7:20 a.m. to 7:40 a.m., will provide an antidote to the transportation-associated illness.
In conjunction with the congested school traffic, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet began construction on the I-75 southbound exit to Mary Grubbs Highway, adding fuel to the fire. The Cabinet is establishing a second left turn lane which should relieve the crowding normally encountered on the exit ramp. However, for now, the temperature of road obstruction is only rising as it is partially blocked by concrete barriers and may soon welcome crews and vehicles working during night hours. With the construction and car back-up in mind, students, parents, and faculty are left to wonder what will be done.
Aware of the various factors influencing the efficiency of dropping students off, Mr. Nash shares his opinions, hopefully easing the minds of many frustrated drivers. “Traffic is not good,” he jumps in. “We have increased our enrollment a little bit here at this campus, which puts more cars coming into campus.” All cars are trying to get to one place within a restricted amount of time. In response to the difficulty of the time constraint, the school has been opening the doors around 7:10am for early drop off. Mr. Nash envisions a solution which includes a bit more construction: “If they could redo it, we would love to put an exit going down the hill by the bus garage so it’s a straight shot for parents to drop their kids off.” Perhaps in the future, an additional exit will be more than just a dream but a reality.
Although the recent hold-up may infuriate students wanting to simply arrive at school on time, a change in mindset might treat a few of traffic’s side effects. Researching the impact of our frame of mind, Parsamanesh and Vysochyn of the National Library of Medicine find, “Cultivating the skill of positive thinking while dealing with an illness can render a better quality of life with tremendous self-satisfaction and health outcomes.” Those in line are limited to waiting until they arrive at the drop-off spot, but shifting the perspective from sickly frustration to vibrant purpose encourages students to have a productive school day. A variety of distractions such as music, games, and discussions make up the recipe for a soothing remedy to the infection of traffic at Walton-Verona High School.