BY CONNOR McMANUS

Scott Barter is frustrated.

“Whenever it rains, the parents come to pick up their kids and they block off the entire street. They usually fill up the street behind the school too, and no one can get anywhere. It gets really irritating,” says the visibly annoyed sophomore.

Disruptions like the one Barter describes are oddly difficult to deal with, particularly when they break up a well-established schedule or pattern. The most trivial inconveniences quickly become unbearable, provided they mess with routine. Such is the case with the one-way street and detour at Terrace Park Elementary that gives Barter so much grief.

According to Mrs. Lee, the Terrace Park Elementary principal, the detour was implemented “for the safety of the students while we are in the modular buildings.”

“It creates a one-way, controlled traffic flow for student drop-off and pick-up and a ‘safe zone’ between the road barriers as children get in and out of cars,” says Lee. Despite these benefits, Lee acknowledges that system has inconvenienced those who live nearby.

Barter is perhaps most directly affected by the detour. “I live on the very end of the one-way street, so people always have to go around the block and it takes longer,” says Barter.

In reality, the extra drive around the block takes no more than a minute. If that. But inevitably, those who are conditioned to a shorter drive will find that high levels of irritation accompany the experience.

However, Barter’s frustration is rooted not only in the extra time, but in the belief that the system could be better.

“I don’t think it’s necessary. Kids know not to run out in the street,” says  Barter. “The argument for the detour is that kids have to go from the school to Stanton field for recess, but that doesn’t make sense because it’s winter and they usually stay inside.”

Freshman Daniel Simons, whose commute is also affected by the detour, shares these sentiments.

“I think it’s stupid, and it annoys me a lot,” says Simons. “I like to get home quick and easy.”

Simons also believes that the system could be improved.

“It could just be a two-way street,” Simons claims.

Simons, his brother Chris, a junior, and Ryan Fine, also a junior, believe that the ideal fix to the situation would be either a subway or a rollercoaster over the school instead of the detour. Lee notes in hindsight that the construction planning committee would have benefitted from this kind of creative insight.

Although the district missed an opportunity to involve inspired high school students in the detour system, the arrangement appears to have worked.

“From the school’s point of view and for the safety of the children, it has worked really well,” says Lee. “We truly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during construction – only a few more months!”