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Time to address traffic issues at Gamewell school
It's been talked about for quite awhile now. Parents have mentioned it, school personnel have discussed it, and law enforcement officers have shared their concerns. It's the problem with traffic around Gamewell Elementary School, and members of the Gamewell Town Council are taking up the cause as well. Plans are in the works to make some changes around the elementary school, located right on busy N.C. 18, to ease the traffic congestion and potential for accidents. Town officials have said the intersection of N.C. 18 and Gamewell School Road is “dangerous,” and it is “critical” that something be done. And they couldn't be more on target. That intersection has long been a dangerous one, simply because of the traffic speeding along N.C. 18 while cars try to merge into that flow from Gamewell School Road, especially those making left turns heading toward Lenoir. There have been too many accidents to count in that specific area of the county, some of them fender-benders and some far more serious. Initial plans that have been submitted for changes there call for making Gamewell School Road one way from N.C. 18 to both Gamewell Elementary and Gamewell Middle as well as possibly restricting a left turn on to 18 during school hours. At this point, any change made to the traffic pattern should be a welcomed one and, hopefully, a safer alternative. There is a light a short distance past the elementary school where Rocky Road intersects N.C. 18, and using that light certainly may be safer than trying to cross multiple lanes of traffic in the congested morning and afternoon hours when school is starting and ending. Using that light would cause parents to alter their route of travel, perhaps even going out of their way as they deal with traffic from both schools. But even that would be safer than attempting to get on N.C. 18 from Gamewell School Road in those busy travel periods. Part of the reason for the increased number of accidents in that area of the county is simply because the traffic count has increased so much through the years. More parents are taking their children to school and picking them up each day, hence the greater potential for congestion. There's certainly no fault in taking a child to school, but the increased number of vehicles in a smaller area just increases the possibility that something bad could happen, like a crash. The concerns by many have been heard by the N.C. Department of Transportation, and now it's a matter of seeing to it that something gets done to alleviate the problem, or at least reduce the likelihood that something damaging could occur. Let's just hope that something is done sooner rather than later, before someone is critically or even fatally injured in another accident at that location. Nathan Key Managing Editor nathankey@newstopic.net
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