Monday’s closure of 136th Street to change traffic around school

By Amy Flis
<[email protected]>

136th Street at Keystone is scheduled to close next Monday, which is the first week day following this Friday the 13th.

To manage the traffic, the administration has a plan to change traffic patterns at the school. The changes include closing the trail to all vehicle traffic, closing the gate at the stadium across from the trail and changing the bus pick-up locations to be at Main Street and on the drive east of the school (as there will no longer be buses at the Natatorium).

Principal John Williams said students need to be patient. “We all know that it’s not going to be the same. There’s going to have to be a lot of patience, time, and (putting) safety first,” Williams said.

Although sophomore Kirby Lynch said she doesn’t always drive to school, she said the construction will be inconvenient.
“I’ll think it’s a good idea when it’s done,” Lynch said. “But it’ll cause a lot of traffic problems, and I think they probably shouldn’t do it while school’s in session.”

The closure was originally scheduled to begin April 13, but the construction company changed the date. Keystone Avenue is still scheduled to close on April 13.

“(The date change is) not necessarily a bad thing,” Assistant Principal Doug Bird said. “Because the city will have more time to complete the project—hopefully before the first home football game.”

When asked whether the bad luck of Friday the 13th has anything to do with the construction beginning, Williams said the opposite actually seems true in this case. Williams said, “It’s the last day you’ll be able to drive out of here without all of the construction.”