School System Still Sorting Out School Traffic

Traffic at the schools continues to be a focus during this first week of school.

On Friday, there were numerous reports of delays and long lines at numerous Stephens County schools, especially in the afternoon.

Also, there were reports of numerous bus delays.

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said that the first day, while always congested, did present some new traffic problems from new routines brought on by the re-structuring of grades Pre-K through five.

“We have always had long lines on first days,” said Dorsey. “We know we exceeded two hours on that final pick-up (at Big A). We had a lot of folks show up early and anytime that happens, it backs up traffic on the road. Once you have the gridlock, you have the gridlock.”

That gridlock, he said, also kept four buses from getting to Big A until 4 p.m. on the first day.

Dorsey said that he feels improvements have been made since Friday and adds it is something the school system is continuing to look at and work on.

“We re-staged how we brought buses in there,” said Dorsey. “We continue to look at improving our afternoon routes and speed up our loading process.”

He said staff’s primary concern is safety and feels once everyone is in a routine, it will help.

Dorsey added there are things people can do to help with the traffic situation as well.

“Carpooling is an excellent solution,” said Dorsey, noting it works well for people with children at more than one school.

Dorsey said the school system appreciates everyone’s patience with traffic during the first few days of school.