Written by Hayley Krolik
After months of work, the “Miranda Drop-off” was launched this school year as an effort to reduce traffic congestion by providing a roundabout where cars can drop off students. The drop-off was included in order to accommodate for the change in location of the “village” portables
According to Assistant Principal James Lubbe, when plans were developed for the new N building, the opportunity arose to renovate the drop-off area in an area where traffic problems were prevalent. “You could drive in there before, but you would drive in and you didn’t have a natural turn-around spot, so it created a lot of congestion and traffic,” he said.
The drop-off is advantageous for students and teachers coming from Los Altos Hills, as those from Palo Alto travel on Arastradero. Cars are also able to deposit students on either side of the drop off zone.
Senior Mack Radin feels that it has made a huge difference in the amount of traffic in his daily commute. “Before, I would be waiting at the light for three rounds,” Radin said. “At some points, Foothill would be completely blocked because everyone would be stuck in line to turn into Gunn at 8:23 and everyone would be late. Now, that doesn’t happen because people filter out to turn both ways.
According to Lubbe, the drop off has also improved safety through the addition of speed bumps and campus supervisors who monitor the traffic. “We try to get our campus supervisors out there; there is one in the front parking lot, and one in the back side [at the drop-off],” Lubbe said. His main concern is whether or not drivers will follow the law when exiting the drop-off. “I would be concerned about drivers obeying the laws about not turning left out of the parking lot and not double-parking out on Miranda itself,” Lubbe said. In addition, Radin is worried about the limited space in the area. “It is kind of annoying that there is no parking there anymore. I used to park there after lunch because it was more convenient for me,” he said. “There is also less room. We need to store our materials for floats and we used to do it in an area over there. Now we can’t.”