Construction to replace stormwater pipes on Monticello Road started on Monday, Oct. 6, causing the road and sidewalks to be temporarily shut down.
This major road closure, along with the construction on Shawnee Mission Parkway, has made getting to and from school harder for students and teachers alike.
Freshman Kinsly Rader gets a ride to school and is impacted by this construction.
“We have to wait in traffic at the entrance because so many people are coming from the same direction,” Rader said. “I get to school five minutes later. Traffic is really a pain because you have to get through everyone.”
Not only does the construction disrupt the students’ ability to get in and out of school, but it also affects after school activities. Junior Chance McCall now struggles to get to work when school gets out.
“[The construction has] made trying to be on time to after school activities harder,” McCall said. “The traffic [has] caused me to almost be late to work, even though I left straight from school and had all my stuff with me ready to go.”
Since construction started, the school has been lenient on letting students come into their first blocks late. Spanish teacher Jan Good-Bollinger believes they should start being more strict as more time passes.
“I understand [being late as] a first day or two kind of thing,” Good-Bollinger said. “But I think eventually, at least coming from the direction I am, I feel like you can modify your plan to leave the house four or five minutes earlier and get here on time. I would rather them expect students to be here on time.”
While the Monticello traffic has impacted students, the Shawnee Mission Parkway construction mainly affects the teachers at the school. Good-Bollinger was almost late due to various closures on Shawnee Mission.
“[The construction on Shawnee Mission Parkway is] changing so much every day. I mean, this entrance ramp is open, [then] it’s not open,” Good-Bollinger said. “I thought if I use Google Maps, I’d be able to see [the closures but] Google Maps did not have any update. Now I’m using Apple Maps, [but] it’s not even marking construction in the area where it’s constructed. It slows me down in the end, [but] I imagine it’s going to be lovely [when it’s done].”
To combat the traffic problem on Monticello, the school sent out alternative driving and walking routes that students can use to try and avoid the morning traffic, as well as integrating a new bus drop-off and pick-up location.
Monticello Trails Middle School has also moved its car loop to the old bus drop-off and pick-up location, and police officers along with Monticello Trails principal Jennifer Smith, monitor the crosswalk between the high school and middle school.
Even with these implementations, students are still frustrated with the timing of the construction. McCall thinks the schedule could have been moved to maximize convenience.
“I feel like it should’ve been done during the summer or over a long break to minimize the effect on the school,” McCall said.
