Traffic congestion prompts Republic district to change two school start times
School-related traffic congestion was so disruptive to one Republic intersection this past year, the district has changed start times for two nearby buildings.
This fall, the school start and end times will be earlier for Lyon Elementary and later for Sweeny Elementary.
An earlier, separate decision to re-purpose a third building — currently used as an early childhood center — into administrative offices, is also expected to reduce the twice-daily bottleneck at Main Street and Missouri Highway 174.
Superintendent Matt Pearce said the rapid growth of the city has added traffic and new students to the district.
"The growth has increased the number of students arriving and leaving school by car," Pearce said. "That (intersection) is getting congested so much it is backing up traffic on Main Street and Highway 174. What we have is a safety issue."
Lyon is located at 201 E. Highway 174 and Sweeny is located at 720 N. Main St. During this year, both schools started at 8:30 a.m. and dismissed at 3:30 p.m.
Pearce said heavy traffic during school pick-up and drop-off times created a headache for parents and other motorists. It often resulted in vehicles backing up on the shoulder of the highway.
"It is certainly not an ideal situation," Pearce said. "We're fortunate we have not had any accidents."
Parents at Lyon and Sweeny were surveyed this spring and 73 percent responded they were "dissatisfied" or "greatly dissatisfied" with the traffic congestion at the intersection. They also suggested ways to address the issue, including changing the start times.
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The district sought feedback from school employees and studied bus routes to figure out how to best shift start times.
This fall, Lyon will start at 8:20 a.m. and dismiss at 3:20 p.m. and Sweeny will start at 8:40 a.m. and dismiss at 3:40 p.m.
In a recent letter to parents, the district said it will work closely with the city to find long-term solutions.
"We are making the change for the safety of our kids and our community," Pearce said, adding the new start times will be in place for at least one year. "Our community is pretty good at understanding these things."
In 2021, voters approved a $16 million bond issue to build a new early childhood center and storm shelter on the old football field behind Price Elementary.
That project is expected to open in August and provide more space for preschool.
The district will relocate its center office from the back of Price to the old early childhood center at 636 N. Main St. — next to the intersection with traffic congestion issues — with light remodeling to create a new boardroom.
The use of that smaller, landlocked building for offices, not early childhood, is expected to reduce traffic through the intersection.
Claudette Riley is the education reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Sweeny, Lyon schools change start times to help traffic in Republic
