At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, start and end times were unified between the two Arrowhead campuses. With these new changes, traffic has increased dramatically as student drivers now arrive and leave at the same time as parent drivers.
Some students have discussed ways to avoid the traffic. The most common strategy is to just wait it out; however, students end up waiting up to ten minutes after dismissal before leaving campus.
“I usually wait in the cafeteria until about three,” Ethan Polidori, senior, said.
Some students put up with it and wait in the long lines, while others wait indoors. Some students have even opted to walk home.
On top of that, buses have also caused traffic problems. The buses now pick up students at Arrowhead South Campus. Some students think that they end up clogging crucial traffic patterns.
“It’s a little goofy,” Hunter Miscikowski, senior, said. “It just plain sucks”.
However, waiting it out is not seen as student friendly or convenient. In fact, it can often make students feel frustrated as they have to stay at school even longer.
This new traffic problem didn’t exist last year. With the introduction of the new schedule, both campuses dismiss at the same time.
Traffic turning left from Arrowhead Campus Drive onto North Avenue are considered to be the biggest contributors to the new traffic problem. This prevents students from taking easy left turns out of the campus, which in turn holds up lines on both Arrowhead Drive and in two of the three Arrowhead North Campus parking lots.
One proposal has been made to separate the release times by ten minutes, similar to previous years. This would allow parents to pick up their children before the majority of the student drivers get released.
“It’s almost like the campuses should be released at different times,” Aidan Schlise, senior, said. “Right now it’s like a hellstorm out there.”
Other students are suggesting that the upcoming Arrowhead High School Referendum would help solve this issue by creating new roadways with more driver ergonomics in mind.
“They should just add another exit,” Connor Woodward, senior, said.
With the 2024-2025 school year well underway, student drivers at Arrowhead are frustrated with the new traffic problems.
