Editor:

As I read the article Plan OK'd to improve American Avenue, I wondered if any of these people had gone to the area and watched what happens before and after school.

Putting in another turn lane into the Heritage parking lot won't solve much because parents can't be bothered to use the one that's there. Some parents are in such a hurry that they stop and let their student out of the car without pulling into the drop-off lane. This causes a backup, not to mention the danger to the student from the other lanes of traffic. I guess the parents don't want to waste the extra time it takes to pull over and then get back into traffic. I can't speak for them, but my child is worth the extra time!

As for the extra bike and skateboard lane why? The students don't use the lane that is there now. They ride in the gutter on the other side of the street. The reason they do this is because the parents are parked in the bike lane. Is that even legal? Parking in the bike lane results in students taking short cuts across the road to the bike lane parking. I've seen students almost get run over because they don't stop or watch the traffic and car doors being opened into traffic don't help.

This new lane will provide just more parking for the parents. Maybe the money would be better spent if a few policemen were hired to give out tickets to people who are illegally parked. That could help bring in some money that could be used for a permanent solution.

I know that the parents at Adams Middle School double park in the red zone. Some of them even go the wrong way on the one-way road just to save themselves the few minutes it takes to drive through the parking lot. If there were ever an emergency at the school in the afternoon, I doubt that an emergency vehicle could even get to the front of the building.

$185,000 is a lot of money to spend for something that isn't really going to solve the problem or help our budget problems. Following traffic laws and allowing a little extra time would help, but this problem was overlooked from the beginning of construction on these schools, and it's going to take more than a turn lane and a new bike lane to fix it.

Theresa Adams

Brentwood