by David Hermanson, Staff Writer, October 2021

Chaos and anarchy abounded on Nobles’ roads in the early weeks of the school year as many students were repeatedly left stuck in traffic outside of the school. What once was a simple commute has now become a hellish nightmare. While typically a spike in traffic at the beginning of the school year is to be expected, this year the spike is noticeably more severe. Like the final miles of a marathon, the distance to the Lawrence Auditorium doors for assembly has become what some may describe as a sick race. “It’s actually insane. It’s crazy. It’s like a mad rush to get to Nobles and to get there on time,” Nico Badia (Class III) said. 

 After a year of relative calm on the roads, students have finally fully returned to school only to find that they have now been trapped outside. This caused problems for many in the Nobles community, and while students awaited measures that could solve the issue, a variety of strategies emerged to avoid stern talks with class deans as well as to avoid the fear of detention.  

Many students have resorted to earlier wake-up times, putting further stress on already diminished sleep schedules, while others can be seen escaping from their guardians’ cars to run the final stretch to the flagpole. However, this strategy has been condemned by the Nobles faculty and staff for its lack of safety. 

While these inconveniences have caused woe for many, traffic represents an arguably more serious issue of access for students whose commutes are already a major issue in normal times. 

“I have been late, I think, about three or four times,” Max Daniello (Class III) said. When reflecting on his absences to assembly he added, “I definitely try to be on time every single day because I don’t want to miss it, but it’s tough.” 

Daniello is representative of a significant portion of the Nobles population that must deal with traveling more than 45 minutes to reach school each day. Because of his traffic-induced tardiness, Max is on the verge of facing disciplinary action. In order for him to make it on time, he has found himself waking up even earlier than usual so as to compensate for the disorganization outside. 

Yet changes are being made, and hope is on the horizon. Ongoing efforts by the school administration seem to be stemming the hordes of cars clogging up the roads surrounding the school. In a recent email sent on September 27, Head of School Cathy Hall, Ph.D., announced a variety of actions that would be taken in an attempt to correct the traffic congestion issue. These included a temporary addition of a traffic control police detail as well as several re-routing measures that alleviate pressure for those entering from Pine Street. In addition, by better utilizing the back entrance, many hope to see the issue of standstill traffic diminish, if not disappear entirely. 

Nobles students are hopeful that these measures will improve the problem in the long run. Badia expressed the sentiments of his peers after having heard the news of the changes: “I think that’s a great addition….I definitely think it’ll help.” Looking forward, it seems most students are tentatively optimistic that the issue of traffic congestion will soon be resolved.