School's back, traffic better or worse?

[johnniecakes]

School has been back in session for about a week here in PA. I have noticed that the traffic is less on the roads since school opened. But I have to avoid the area around the schools during the opening and closing times. Between the buses and the parents dropping off/picking up it is a very dangerous area. Outside of the school zones it is much more enjoyable. Is this the same way where you live?

[Blue Jays]

In my area...school-in-session means more buses, more drop-off/pick-up of students, and more teachers on the road.

[blindwilly]

Worse for me. I have always attributed this to more folks working and less folks on vacation. I hate traffic.

[smead]

Horrible around here. There is traffic backed up to a mile deep from the middle schools for an hour each morning, and in each idling vehicle a parent giving their tot a personal ride to school. Most live within 1-2 miles from the school. And they do have bus service. It irks me. Is a public school bus ride too dangerous of an option? How about a short bike ride? I remember riding my bike to school starting in 3rd grade, or taking the bus. But I guess that was back in the day .., before helicopter parents hovered in.

[zambenini]

Lol, yeah, it's time to start mountain biking.

[spoonrobot]

Traffic is significantly worse here around the top-end Atlanta metro. Rush hour over the summer is ~4pm-7pm. Once school comes back in session it goes from ~3pm-8pm with a ton more cars on the surface streets.

It's really a shame, even the secret side-roads that never have traffic around Doraville/Chamblee are inundated with cars and trucks as more and more apartments and townhomes are crammed into what was greenspace or subdivided property that used to house single family homes.

[denapista]

When school is back in, that means no traffic on the beaches in Malibu during the weekdays. PTO days are meant for bombing the waves in Zuma beach and drinking wine on the sand without any kids!

[Seramount]

wasn't aware that school started and went by a nearby middle school at 8 am on the first day of class.

utter chaos.

kids jaywalking everywhere, frantic parents driving like jerks, buses stopping in the middle of the road to unload...

craziness near schools combined with an extensive paving/bike lane re-config project on my most frequently used route is making life kinda sucky at the moment.

[seanile]

Originally Posted by smead

Most live within 1-2 miles from the school. And they do have bus service.

i think in my home district the busses wouldn't come to you unless you lived further than that.

[smead]

Originally Posted by seanile

i think in my home district the busses wouldn't come to you unless you lived further than that.

For those areas, heaven forbid one might walk a mile with their kid to school? It cracks me up (and pains me) to see parents spend an hour idling to/from school in mile long gridlock when they could walk the route faster.

Or gosh maybe ride a bike? Nah, too dangerous.

[Cicli]

School, no big deal.
In a month my area will triple in population. There are 10 golf courses in the immediate area and this whole town is snowbirds that leave for the summer. This place will be nuts with the midwest retirees soon.

[commandcomm]

More traffic here in Oklahoma. So many parents drive their child to school. All of the roads near the schools get backed up. This is a big change from when I went to school where no parents drove or picked up from school. We all took the bus.

[PeregrineA1]

We live around the block from an elementary school. Not one kid walks or rides a bike. Every kid is delivered in their own 4000 pound device. Driven into gridlock at the school and then the 4000 pound device springs out of the school as if it’s balls are on fire. Racing away without regard for other humans or any other living thing. It’s unsafe to take out the trash at 8 or 2:30.


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[shinomaster]

On my once quiet street at 8:30 am? It's WAY worse. I live near a school and all the reckless parents cut through my street to drop off their offspring. I can't even roll off my driveway sometimes. It's bad.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by PeregrineA1

"...Racing away without regard for other humans or any other living thing..."

That is the crazy part.
Parents arrive driving as if balancing raw eggs on their dashboard.
Parents then depart as if driving a rented car in a demolition derby.
Amazing how that instantaneous transformation occurs at schools!