As Park kicks off the new school year, massive construction projects are in progress, barring access to multiple areas of the school .This causes crowded hallways during passing time and when school finishes.
Junior Tripp Danicic said the impact of crowded hallways hasn’t been too much of an issue for him, though it can be annoying.
“Well sometimes it’s not really that bad,” Danicic said. “I get to class on time, but it’s really annoying when the stairways are blocked and clogged with people, which makes it hard to get through and then I have to wait longer until the stairway clears and then I can finally get through.”
Junior Declan Gaines said kids leaving early during lunch or fifth hour creates more congestion.
“Especially for lunch, making the kids wait until the exact time when they can leave lunch really clogs up the hallways during fifth hour,” Gaines said.
According to Business teacher Abigail Lugo, when kids are distracted by their phones or when friends are grouped up it adds on to the large crowds during passing time.
“Some of it is just people who are addicted to their cell phones. A lot of times people aren’t even looking and they’re just wandering and moseying around, so sometimes that adds to it,” Lugo said. “There’s also friend groups that hang around the hallways who are excited to be together and chat, but don’t realize they could be in someone’s way which creates problems in the hallways when people are trying to get to class.”
Construction continues to be a main factor in the crowded hallways. Gaines said that with multiple hallways being closed down, it creates more issues in the few available hallways during passing time.
“The construction is definitely a huge factor in why the hallways are so crowded,” Gaines said. “With different hallways being closed down like the one in the circle (C hallway) and not being able to cross through the cafeteria, it can create one main hallway where kids cross through”
According to Lugo, a solution for this is to have a longer passing time.
“If we had one period where the passing time was a bit longer, it would be a perfect solution,” Lugo said. “At least one period where we did have a 10 minute break time so it would allow a little bit more flexibility to take care of your needs.”
