Forty-five minutes to drive home seems outrageous, especially when you only live 10 miles from the school. Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening to a lot of students and parents once the bell rings. Students have always complained about the traffic jam, but now it looks like that criticism is being heard.  The city of Leander and Williamson County plan to widen the roads around the campus within the next couple of years.

With a little more than 2,300 students attending this high school, Wiley Middle School right next door and a small private school held at the church across the street, it’s clear Raider Way has a traffic problem at 4 p.m. The city plans on widening Raider Way, adding turn lanes and possibly adding a light at the student parking lot exit. It will end up looking a lot like Vista Ridge’s entrance street, Vista Ridge Boulevard, with a wide road and turn lanes, according to assistant principal Brandon Evans. While it’s still too early to know the details, the city of Leander and Williamson County are definitely planning to broaden the road.

The money for this project is coming from the city, not the district, meaning the school doesn’t really have a say in the decision making-process, which is why there is no set time limit yet. Sophomore Maxwell Cannon started a petition to raise awareness about the road concerns, it needs 1,000 signatures and to be brought to the city of Leander to have a lasting effect in the process.

While it’s great Leander and Williamson County will widen Raider Way, easing up a lot of the traffic that hits pre and post school hours, the bad news is that the parking lot will have no changes. Because of the already set design and layout of the school, no extra entrances or exits will be added to any of the parking lots nor will the parking lot roads be widened. Another problem is that the city hasn’t quite picked a time to start this project, they just know it will begin sometime in the next few years.

Since the roads in the parking lots won’t expand, the only way to help with the traffic is to simply be a courteous driver. Don’t cut other people off, you can wait. When it’s their turn, let them go, otherwise you’re just stopping up their section. Don’t move the cones. The parking lot attendant, Henry Foster, puts the cones in place for a reason, so keep them there. Out in the real world, you can get in trouble for moving traffic cones, so don’t get into the habit of doing it. Lastly, let the buses go. A few buses leave from the student lot and they have students needing to get home too. Zipping past the bus is dangerous for you, student drivers, the bus driver and students on board.

With the expansion of the roads and the possibility of getting a traffic light in the next couple of years, the traffic and blockage will hopefully come to an end. However, part of that is also up to each driver following the rules and not being so concerned about getting out first.