New Lot Incoming

In an attempt to alleviate traffic blockages around Newtown High School, the Board of Education has recently approved a $107 million project to purchase the commuter lot sitting adjacent to Newtown High School. The district believes that this acquisition will help to offer more parking spaces to students and faculty, while also helping the flow of traffic out of the school in the afternoon. 

            As it currently stands, the Exit 11 Park & Ride (or the “commuter lot” colloquially) offers a convenient parking solution for daily commuters and travelers. The idea of such a place is that people will leave their cars in the parking lot while joining others for carpooling. Not only does this help citizens save money on ever-rising gas prices, but also provides an easy aid to public transportation. 

            Many Newtown residents are forced to sit in the Berkshire Road traffic caused by the high school on the way to their morning endeavors. Not only are people travelling through this area to attend the high school, but many pass through on the way to work, errands, and other morning tasks. 

Because the intersection near the high school is adjacent to Route 84’s Exit 11, hundreds of cars are attempting to enter and exit the highway each morning. The purchase of the commuter lot will help students enter their parking spaces in a swift manner, leading to decreased congestion at the intersection. 

“The traffic flow is 5-way traffic right now, and I only have two eyes. It’s going to be less work for me, especially because people don’t listen. Not only would it help the flow of cars through the area, but it would allow the buses to get through more efficiently, leading to more kids getting to school on time,” NHS Security Guard and Traffic Coordinator Chanta Bryan said. 

            The purchase of the Exit 11 Park & Ride ⸺ as well as the surrounding area ⸺ will add nearly 107 additional parking spaces for Newtown High School students and faculty. In the current parking lot, the school is only able to provide parking spots for about 3/5ths of the juniors, and is unable to accommodate parking for any sophomore students. The 107 new parking spaces will allow for all juniors to attain parking spots, while the rest of the spots will be allocated to sophomore students. 

            “It was annoying as a junior because I didn’t get a parking spot. I have a late November birthday, and so I didn’t get my license until March. All of the spots were long gone by then, and I disliked how all of my friends had parking spots and I didn’t,” NHS senior and former junior Johnny Barzetti said. 

            The new area will be connected to the existing parking lot via a driveway looping around Blue & Gold Stadium. The existing commuter lot will stay as it is. However, an additional paved connector driveway will be created, allowing for easy access from the new commuter lot to the main high school parking lot. 

The board believes that this will be beneficial for a multitude of reasons, even beyond reducing congestion before and after school.

 "We are looking forward to expanding our parking space across that street, particularly to add additional space for our larger events, such as open house, football games, concerts and graduation. The commuter lot will be a huge asset to Newtown High School," NHS Principal Dr. Longobucco said.

            In addition, All Star Transportation will be providing two extra school buses that will run between the new area and the high school entrance. The school buses will be painted blue and gold in an effort to increase school spirit.

The buses will aid in shuttling students, faculty, and other visitors to and from the commuter lot. This means that students will no longer have to walk across the dangerous Wasserman Way on their way to the high school. Many students believe that this could be an underrated benefit of purchasing the commuter lot. 

            “One of the most enraging things about sitting in traffic is when people have to cross the street. You have 2 people at a time that press the button, and their crossing stops the flow of cars on every side. Essentially, traffic is halted just so that two people from the commuter lot can saunter their way to school,” NHS Senior and morning commuter Charlie Dunn said. By connecting the commuter lot directly to the school via buses, traffic can flow continuously without being hindered by pedestrians. 

            Every person in Newtown should be excited for this change. Not only will it decrease traffic congestion at the Berkshire-Wasserman intersection, but the additional parking will also provide all Newtown High School students who have their licenses to receive a spot as early in their high school careers as possible. 

Happy April Fools!!!!!! (this information is false)