Residents near Tennyson Middle School are struggling with traffic problems

MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas – Some neighbors on North 60th Street are having difficulty getting in and out of their homes in the mornings and after school due to heavy traffic to Tennyson Middle School.

Their school year began on August 14, but residents say traffic began nearly a month earlier because teachers were parking on the side of the road.

• Neighbors on North 60th Street near the newly built Tennyson Middle School call this traffic a “nightmare,” and parents picking up their children feel the same way.
• With cars backing up on the street, neighbors have put up cones and signs to discourage people from parking in front of their homes. But a major concern for these homeowners is safety.
• Waco ISD's director of operations and facilities says they've always had a plan in place to get riders in and out of the pickup line, but residents are offering other solutions that Waco ISD says it will look into.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE MISSION:

“If you have an appointment like I had last week at 8:30 a.m., I missed it because I couldn't pull out of my own driveway,” Becky Shook said.

“You have to sit here and wait 25 minutes just to back out because there are so many cars – you just can't get out of the driveway,” said Jeffrey Reed.

Neighbors on North 60th Street near the newly constructed Tennyson Middle School call this traffic a “nightmare,” and parents picking up their children feel the same way.

“I had my daughter already there and I said, 'Just stay here, let me get out of the truck.' And I was directing traffic, clearing traffic, and I wasn't getting paid for that,” said Lamanda Prieto.

With a line of cars backing up the streets, neighbors have put up cones and signs to discourage people from parking in front of their homes. However, one of the main concerns for these homeowners is safety.

“If there is an emergency – we have elderly neighbors – an ambulance couldn't get here even if it tried for an hour and a half every day,” said Julie Felderhoff.

When these neighbors were asked what changes they would like to see to improve traffic, they made several suggestions, such as painting markings on the road, employing school crossing guards, regulating traffic, or staggering student pick-up times.

25 messages Gloria Barrera, director of operations and facilities at Waco ISD, shared these ideas.

“This is something we are working on with our internal police department, Waco ISD, to determine if we need to do some things differently,” Barrerra said.

This new school, which can accommodate more than 1,000 students, was formerly located on Tennyson Drive and is now located at Sanger Avenue and 60th Street.

Barrera says that during construction, they always had a traffic plan in mind to get cars in and out.

“The cars drive through this driveway, drop off their students here and exit on Sanger Avenue,” Gloria Barrera said.

School principal Bradford McMillan says he has seen the traffic and asks parents to be mindful of the queue when picking up and dropping off their children.

He also says that parents and students have been getting used to the route to school since the start of school.

“Again, everyone, be patient with us. This is the beginning of the school year and this is the second week of school. It will definitely get better,” McMillan said.

A parking lot for teachers and staff will open by December, which will reduce the number of cars parked on the street during the day. Waco ISD says the district has plans to work with the city to improve traffic flow.

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