Annnnd … they’re off.
Last week saw the vast majority of Metro Atlanta school systems go back in session with only a small percentage of students opting for remote learning. This is a stark contrast to the start of schooling last August, which resembled Wayne’s World’s “Game off … game on” scene much more than the start of the Kentucky Derby. In other words, school traffic is actually back.
There are some indications that traffic in school zones could be worse than before the pandemic. One study showed that around 30% fewer parents are going to put their kids on buses now, compared to in 2019. Whether COVID-19 risk has influenced that is to be determined, but the effect is going to be obvious. Fewer kids on buses mean more cars in carpool lanes and on the streets near schools. And, of course, that means traffic is worse in those areas in mornings and afternoons.
The pandemic has undoubtedly affected driving habits; the driving public became used to certain conditions that have since drastically changed.
“Speeds have certainly increased and, as a result, we’ve seen much more violent crashes since the beginning of the pandemic,” WSB Triple Team Traffic morning drive reporter Ashley Frasca explained. “Folks became accustomed to having ‘room to move’, so I’d predict traffic aggravations and volume to increase exponentially during the first few weeks of back to school.”
We have certainly observed that. The WSB 24-Hour Traffic Center has fielded calls with people complaining about traffic on certain side roads, thinking there were problems. But a bit of digging around on the maps showed that they were just near schools that hadn’t seen significant traffic in 17 months.
For those used to cruising through those school zones and having the flashing 25 mph signs remain dark — those days are over. And some counties are stepping up school-zone speed enforcement, Frasca said: “Henry County police are adding more than a dozen speed cameras to school zones across that county. Anyone caught going more than 10 mph over the speed limit through one of the school zones from one hour before school, throughout the school day and one hour after school ends, will receive a citation in the mail.”
Many have complained about speed cameras, but studies certainly show they are effective in curbing speeders, though they also draw big revenue for local municipalities. Students have nearly double the chance of death after being hit by a car at 35 mph versus 25 mph, which is why that slow speed is the legal threshold.
When roads were wide open, work crews had chances to make improvements quicker than before.
“When you hit those roads for back to school, you’ll see many highways have been repaved or repaired, and some roundabouts have been added in the Johns Creek, Milton and Holly Springs areas,” Frasca said.
She also noted the changes in the GA-400/I-285 interchange we laid out here last week, which could throw more drivers for loops as they slide back into their routines.
The real back-to-school grind in Atlanta began last Monday and Smilin’ Mark McKay had a bird’s eye view from the WSB Skycopter.
“Bus barns are no longer filled with big yellow school buses. It was a strange sight to see from the WSB Skycopter: all of the buses that were idle and parked last school year. Now the barns are virtually emptied out by 7 a.m. metro-wide, as the school buses are making their appointed rounds in neighborhoods and subdivisions once again,” McKay said.
And McKay noticed firsthand a change on a big Cobb County thoroughfare when Marietta City Schools returned: “We flew over a jam on Whitlock Ave./Hwy. 120 eastbound headed toward Downtown Marietta. It turned out to be the big crowd turning into Marietta High School.” Fortunately, the Skycopter had no toilet paper caught up in the blades.
The WSB Traffic Team has noticed various delays in school zones on the Triple Team Traffic Alerts App in the mornings and afternoons. And the entire city’s traffic system is seeing more load. Even with COVID-19 numbers rising and some offices paring back their reopenings, the largescale return to school is like a tide raising all ships. The tide is traffic volume and the ships are trip times. So, let all of this be a reminder that planning extra time for commutes is even more necessary and extra caution is needed in these school zones that have finally gotten busy again. And traffic will only get worse in the next few weeks, as summer vacation season truly ends and many more people return to their routines.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also hosts a traffic podcast with Smilin’ Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com.
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