Traffic backup on Booneville this morning?

3,195 Views | 20 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by toolshed
waterchick
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I saw westbound traffic on Booneville/FM 158 was backed up from Highway 6 to FM 1179. Feeder road at Hwy 6 & NB was backed up through the intersection. Is that all back to school traffic for the middle school or was there a wreck? Fortunately I was traveling the other direction so I didn't get stuck in it, but yikes.
gettingitdone
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I am willing to bet it was back to school traffic
SchnauzerMom
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It was all back to school traffic. I got stuck in it after dropping my daughter off at daycare.
BCSWguru
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just wait til Blinn....
waterchick
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Bleh. It just didn't seem that bad on First Day last year.
FlyRod
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Ye Olde Booneville Road.
OnlyANobody
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Just my opinion, but I think that BISD made a major miscalculation in the realignment this year.

I drove to SFA from Copperfield this morning. Not knowing what to expect, (having been at Rayburn last year) we left home at 7:20 to grab breakfast and get to SFA by 8:05. Going there went perfectly with my dropping my student at 7:45. The trip back home was insane. WJB was backed up to Villa Maria with people trying to cross Highway 6 at Boonville. Boonville was backed up all the way past the cemetery with people trying to turn right on the feeder to Rayburn and to cross Highway 6.

Picking up my student at 3:47 was only slightly insane, but helped by the fact that the students were permitted to walk to cars parked along the side of SFA. As I was going to SFA, I noted that traffic turning right off Boonville to north bound feeder road (Rayburn) was sitting all the way back to the new Taco Bell. Getting home though, was crazy. WJB was backed up to Villa Maria, The southbound feeder road, left lane was backed up almost to MLK. I continued to Briarcrest on the feeder, to go to Copperfield.

Copperfield Drive was backed up to the school zone sign with parents waiting at 4:25. (The lights had already turned off for the school zone)

A school bus dropped kids by my house this evening at 6:30 - followed immediately by the robo-call apologizing for today's confusion and delays.

My guess is that BISD lacks enough buses and/or drivers to make a more palatable bus schedule. As it stands, my student would be on a bus with a transfer at Bryan High for about an hour each way. Call him a snowflake or whatever, but I think it is a lot to add two hours commute time to a long enough school day. (Most of us would complain about a one hour commute here in town, to work)

TLDR: Bus schedules are long and tedious and more parents than ever are driving kids to school, causing massive amounts of traffic. Having every single 5th and 6th grader consolidated into two schools, as well as every 7th and 8th grader the same way has caused a traffic overload that no one saw coming.
Ag97
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AG
It's always bad the first few days. With the changes, there is going to be confusion and a learning curve, plus there are a ton of parents that drop off and pick up their kids the first 2 or 3 days, then they start car pooling or riding the bus more. It will get better, but I don't think there is much hope for Rayburn until they either build a much larger parking lot on the back side of the school so they can allow for 100+ cars to snake around more or possibly buy some land and put in another access to Austin Colony Pkwy from the backside. The entrance and exit planning for Rayburn was pretty poor to begin with. Now that they have added a few hundred more students, they are going to have to do something.
angus55
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Jane Long was no better. Need better logistics planning for BISD and work with PD and City.
gettingitdone
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Ag97, it has been crazy at Raybur for so long. When my kids were there, I complained daily about parents parking on the feeder road to wait for their kids....talk about a cluster ****!! At least that is no longer a problem. I would have thought with Long and Rayburn only having two grade levels now as opposed to three would have cut down on some of the traffic as well.
Mathguy64
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AG
Cutting to 2 grades instead of 3 not only didn't help it really made it worse. Before BISD had 4 schools covering 3 grades. Now collectively those same 4 schools are covering 4 grades. They effectively increased the population of Rayburn, Long, SFA and Davila by 33%.
stinkerbelle
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My daughter goes to Rayburn, this morning was much better dropping her off than yesterday morning, but getting out of there and back on the road to get myself to work was worse. Yesterday afternoon was a nightmare picking her up, was in line over an hour to get up there to get her. My step-grandson did not get home until after 7:00 last night from Rayburn. The bus he was supposed to get on, never showed up to the school. By the time things settled enough to figure out what was going on and get those that were still there needing a bus to get them home made for a late evening for a lot of kiddos and staff!

I know there is a lot of transitioning going on to get this all worked out and smoother and I believe it will get there. They seem to be working hard on getting it all figured out. If the amount of automated calls and e-mails I am getting from Rayburn about this issue is any indication, they are working on it feverishly.
bryanhome
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There was a road planned from Rayburn to Austin Colony Parkway but the residents in Austin Colony with the help of a city councilman fought and kept it from being built.
JayMM_02
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AG
Any chance someone currently in the Rayburn pick up line is reading this and has info?? I just got a confusing call from my dad saying he was turned away from 6th grade line and was told everyone's coming out via 5th grade line today.

PS - Three cheers for grandparents who are willing and able to help out with after-school care!!!
fcag
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AG
From Principal Smith last night...

Quote:

...1) We will allow for parents to walk up to receive their students. (For parents to do this they must park in the North Parking Lot Next to the Tennis courts. Then walk up to the front porch where at that point we can call for their student.)

2) All car riders will be picked up in one location. We are asking that all parents follow the route we have for car riders, which will be one way. The route we have provided will free up space on the highway and streamline communication to move students to cars quicker.


3) Last, we want to encourage our families to use our buses. Each bus saves about 20 cars. Please consider using these services. To find out about bus services select this website: http://www.infofinderi.com/ifi/?cid=BI-25WXCRZMIY
JayMM_02
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AG
Thank you! I totally misread that message last night and confused my dad in the process.
spanky
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AG
Jane Long has been a steady 1-1.5 hours to pick my daughter up, and that is not including the 30 min early I got there. I know things will get better, but there was no plan on day one. Traffic was trying to enter the loop in front of the school from all directions. Day 2 disallowed left hand turns into the loop, but they really need to eliminate all incoming traffic from 2818 if they are going to form the line toward the neighborhood behind the school. Even then, more problems form when traffic backs up to the 4 way stops in that neighborhood; just waiting for a fight to break out there. The cops were out there directing exiting traffic onto 2818 on day two.

They also are not allowing you to walk up and pick your kid up. Folks are still trying to do this, but they were being turned away yesterday. Guess I could have my 5th grader walk and meet me somewhere, but how many of you guys would be comfortable sending your 10 year old daughter walking alone towards Beck St?
dubi
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AG
spanky said:

Jane Long has been a steady 1-1.5 hours to pick my daughter up, and that is not including the 30 min early I got there. I know things will get better, but there was no plan on day one. Traffic was trying to enter the loop in front of the school from all directions. Day 2 disallowed left hand turns into the loop, but they really need to eliminate all incoming traffic from 2818 if they are going to form the line toward the neighborhood behind the school. Even then, more problems form when traffic backs up to the 4 way stops in that neighborhood; just waiting for a fight to break out there. The cops were out there directing exiting traffic onto 2818 on day two.

They also are not allowing you to walk up and pick your kid up. Folks are still trying to do this, but they were being turned away yesterday. Guess I could have my 5th grader walk and meet me somewhere, but how many of you guys would be comfortable sending your 10 year old daughter walking alone towards Beck St?
I would not let them turn me away.
Dr. Teeth
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AG
The tree service blocking one of the lanes on Briarcrest at 7:30 this morning didn't help.
spanky
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AG
I understand why they were turning folks away. Allowing it was just slowing down the already unbelievable car line. What needs to happen is separate lines and pick up area for walk-ups imho. This is likely something they didn't have before, but you need to embrace some kind of change or ideas when you increase the school size 30%.

I would also make the street where the line forms one way after school and have 2 lines of traffic entering the school loop with 2 different crews getting the kids for the 2 lines simultaneously. As of right now, it seems like you wait 20-30 before even the first kid gets into a car; this is based on the line not even moving for the first 20-30 min each day.
spanky
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AG
So I just got in line at Jane Long at the Crestridge trailer park. First time visiting there.

Guess the cops helping with traffic on 2818 was a one day thing. They are not here today.

Overall, getter better...down to 45 min
toolshed
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AG
I got in line on Silkwood at Copper Falls just before 4 and was out of the front lot at about 4:30. I told my daughter I'd probably arrive around 4:30 tomorrow.

I think next week we may may let her ride the bus, hopefully they'll have that figured out by then. Just leary of letting her walk home alone from the bus stop.
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