Traffic Snarls First Weeks at Parkway Central/Middle Schools Guaranteed

When approximately 125 buses depart from Parkway Central High and Middle School to pick up students on Tuesday, the first day of school, there will be traffic jams.

Since July 14, the current intersection with Route 141 at Central High School has been closed, and the only way to access the Central High and Central Middle campuses is from the north by taking Olive Boulevard.

(The district has a map here showing the temporary road closure)

This, combined with parents and students who drive to school, will make for what the Parkway School Board President Beth Feldman calls “our first challenge of the year.”

“It’s going to be hard for our buses to go where they need to go on time and it is also going to be hard for our Central Middle and Central High kids to get to school,” Feldman said about the project, which is expected to conclude in approximately two to three weeks after the first day of school.

Feldman said the has been very helpful in coordinating with the district to manage the traffic situation. Among their provisions to aid the school, MoDOT is changing the timing of the stop lights at Olive Boulevard and Woods Mill Road so the buses can get through without backing up traffic, Feldman said.

On the school’s part, buses will be departing from Central High and Middle schools 15 to 20 minutes earlier than usual to avoid congestion.

At Central High, buses will also be dropping students off behind the school, so parents and students who drive don’t encounter as much congestion at the front of the building.

Dr. Keith Marty, Superintendent of Schools, said the school is patient and grateful to MoDOT because the project will make Parkway a safer place.

“I am amazed we didn’t have more accidents before,” Marty said. “When it’s all done, it will be a better, safer place for our students and parents coming here.”