On the first day of school, lines of sluggish cars stretched down Wayzata Boulevard, Kelley Parkway, and Old Crystal Bay Road–all the way past the Highway 12 overpass. On the opposite side of campus, one cause of the problem stood in the middle of County Road 6, serving as a surprise to those who did not drive near the school all summer: delineator poles blocking off left turns into the school.
Since mid-August, the intersection of Old Crystal Bay Road and County Road 6 has been experimentally restricted to right turns only. After an influx of citizens reached out to the school district and city council about near-misses and concerns on the intersection, the change was made by the City of Orono, Hennepin County, Three Rivers Park District, the Orono Police Department and the Orono School District. The redirect has resulted in new traffic patterns and residential complains; however with time, the initial chaos has visibly diminished.
Orono’s Associate Principal’s Administrative Assistant Heather DeLong said that the first two weeks of school were met with many late students, although it is not clear if the increased tardiness was a result of the traffic redirect or students still adjusting to the start of the school year. The bulk of the traffic has been moved to Kelley Parkway and Wayzata Boulevard, but more cars have started to enter from the west side of County Road 6, according to School Liaison Officer Tony White.
While the redirect removed the left-turn risk, new concerns have arisen. DeLong said that the OHS office has been receiving questions and complaints from parents and nearby residents. Those who live along County Road 6 have had to endure school commuters using their yards and driveways as turning points.
U-turns, albeit less common now than they had been at the start of the school year, have also been a source of annoyance–not to mention a new safety concern. To combat this, ‘no-u-turn’ signs have been posted near the intersection.
Concentrated congestion on the opposite side of Old Crystal Bay Road has been a problem too.
“[The traffic signal] turns green to go straight on Old Crystal Bay, but the cars who are turning right on red from Wayzata Boulevard just keep going because there is such a long line of cars,” senior Harrison Lindbloom said, “It’s caused a lot of moments where I almost get in car crashes.”
More busses have arrived later than usual as well. “After reviewing the arrival times after the first week, there are a couple routes that need to have time adjustments,” Transportation Coordinator Guttu Meleka said, “A couple routes are coming in too early, and a couple are coming in too late.” Meleka also said that three busses had to be rerouted down Willow to Kelley Parkway, and that all routes had five minutes added to them to accommodate the change.
One of the most noticeable side effects of the change has been the inconvenience factor, especially for those who live along County Road 6.
“My drive would take three minutes, but instead I have to take a left on Willow drive, then a right on Kelley parkway, then take another right on Old Crystal Bay then drive down bumper to bumper traffic for 15 minutes to go all the way down to the high school,” junior Anders Gulbrandson said.
On the other hand, some people have had positive experiences with the change.
“If I come to school earlier, [my drive] hasn’t changed much because there’s no traffic either way, but if I come to school later it changes by a good eight minutes faster,” senior Abbie VandenEinde said.
Public Works Director for the City of Orono Adam Edwards said that after the initial shock died down, he has received some positive feedback about the change as well.
To those concerned about the disruption to their daily lives, it may be reassuring to know the change is not yet permanent.
“We’re looking at doing the trial for at least the fall semester,” Edwards said, “if we get closer to the end of the semester and think it’s working great then we would look at doing it temporarily throughout the rest of the year.”
Edwards also said that the city plans to rebuild Old Crystal Bay Road between Wayzata Boulevard and County Road 6, so the restriction will be used to inform decisions on the restructure. Once people have settled into their new commutes, the restriction evaluation will be based on school and public feedback, Orono police observations and traffic counts. Chief Officer Correy Farniok said It will also be important to take the 2018 activities center into consideration.
“With the redesign of Old Crystal Bay Road, as well as some of the redesigns for parking lots and entrances and exits…as part of the activities center project for 2018, we’re hoping to see a change that will bring a safer and more convenient commute to and from school,” Farniok said.
One idea discussed for such redesigns, was an entrance/exit on the activities center parking lot. It would connect to Highway 112 and divert congestion away from Old Crystal Bay Road. As for the current situation, both Farniok and Adams said that stop signs, stop lights and speed reductions did not meet the criteria necessary to be approved. Furthermore, such changes would involve the state, rather than the local governments.
As the school year continues, commuters will have to adjust to the change and wait to see if it will stay. As always, bussing to school is encouraged to reduce overall congestion, and it will be important for drivers to remember to drive calmly.
“This isn’t about convenience, if you decide to make the choice to drop your child off at school, realize that it’s going to take some time. This isn’t going to be easy in, easy out. Our biggest concern is we want to make sure that the kids get to school safely,” Farniok said.