From 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM Monday-Friday, one of the main Burtonsville roads, Old Columbia Pike, is backed up from Briggs Chaney Road to 198. The poorly designed parking lot at Paint Branch High School is to blame for the log jam every morning.

The traffic that haunts Burtonsville every morning from 7 to 7:30 adds ten minutes to any commute on Old Columbia Pike during that time. My house is one minute away from school, yet I leave fifteen minutes early in an attempt to get to school on time. Getting to school on time is a sensitive matter, which is partly what makes the situation so difficult.

Our administration has made an attempt to improve the traffic in the morning; unfortunately, the attempt has ultimately failed. It’s not the administration’s fault though. Parent drivers dropping their kids off at school do not listen to the security personnel outside directing traffic. The unlocking of the doors by the gym was a step in the right direction because it allowed for students being dropped off further down the road towards the gym, but that has hardly had an impact on the log jam. Old Columbia Pike remains backed up to the fire house in the other direction, and the parking lot remains as bumper-to-bumper as ever.

One serious issue related to this is that parents are sometimes forced to drop their kids off on Old Columbia Pike instead of the parking lot because of how long it takes to get in and out. These parents know that entering the parking lot means that they will have to deal with the struggle of getting out, which is no picnic either. It would be best if the traffic didn’t hinder drivers to the point where kids are being dropped off on the side of the road.

There are a few ways to make the traffic flow better and more efficiently. First, drivers coming from the 198 side of Paint Branch need to turn into the entrance by the softball field. That is a two-way road and means that they would not have to wait to turn into the main entrance along with those coming from Old Columbia Pike. As of now, there is no traffic flow that would allow drivers coming from 198 to effectively drop their kids off and get out without creating another log jam. However, a plan would be put in place for this which could have them enter through the first row past the stop sign and then circle around to exit the same way they came in, and it would work. Also, every other departing car, after drop-off, must leave through that exit as well.

Another thing that can be done to make the flow better is require cars to drop kids off all the way down to the last doors by the gym. As long as those doors are unlocked and students arrive on time, they should be dropped off there to get more cars through the line. Security has attempted this, but parents remain steadfast in their lack of respect for the rules.

To help alleviate congestion in the parking lot, teachers and other staff can take advantage of the two parking lots on the right side of the school. There is one above the buses and one down in the corner by the cafeteria. The more cars that go in those parking lots, the less cars there will be in the main parking lot.

The redirecting of traffic in the morning is a task that demands more staff than just the people working in the morning now. There needs to be a staff member at the top of both entrance/exit ways, and at least two down by the entrances to the school moving cars forward. This rewiring of the parking lot is difficult, and I understand that it will require more staff and attention, but at the end of the day, getting students to class on time is a top priority.

These simple steps can be taken to improve the traffic flow at Paint Branch in the morning. Thankfully, there is no traffic after school, compared to the abomination that occurred last year at the end of the day. But there are still improvements to be made for morning traffic that would make students and residents of Burtonsville much less stressed.