For five weeks after February 9th, regular traffic on Slaughter Lane will be cut down to one lane. Regular pick-up routes at Bowie will be altered so that student-pick up will be moved to the Bethany Lutheran Church parking lot, while all student and staff drivers must exit through the Slaughter stoplight.
“We’re going to take it one day at a time and figure out what works, and what doesn’t work,” Academy Director Kaylin Brett said. “We’re going to have all the counselors out, and some of our security staff, directing traffic. We’re going to pay them overtime, because we want eyes on everything, so that we can then come back together and troubleshoot.”
The end goal for Slaughter Lane is for there to be six lanes from Mopac to Brody, because of the reported highly congested traffic in this area. The purpose of one lane being closed is because of the preexisting curb that must be removed.
“At first, I was frustrated, because it’s going to greatly increase the time it takes to leave campus, and especially get there,” Senior Lennon Bres said. “I realize that it’s necessary if we want to build a bigger road, which, long term, will be useful.”
Since construction began this summer, JBHS has been working with the City of Austin and the AISD Police Department to coordinate the eventual lane closure. The Wolftrap campus entrance will be left exclusively as a bus route, as students and faculty will either be walking to the pick-up point in the church parking lot, or directed out from the main Bowie entrance.
“Ultimately, the biggest shift that’s happening is in the dismissal plan,” Brett said. “We’re trying to alleviate Wolftrap just for parents, and then alleviate the campus just for students. Basically no one will be allowed to come onto campus between four and five pm.”
For dismissal, Administrators and School Resource Officers (SROs) will be placing barricades at the regular entrance at 4 pm so no one can enter campus, and placing cones in other areas to guide drivers. Extra SRO’s on motorcycles will also be supporting dismissal.
“I think it’ll be hard for parents, because traffic will make pick up take a lot longer,” Sophomore Once Fessenden said. “I think that it’ll be a lot more crowded over by Wolftrap, and a lot more hectic. The end result will be really good, I just think that the process is hard.”
