It’s a freezing Monday morning. East Meck sophomore and a car rider Mira Holley has a mere 5 minutes to get to class before the sound of the bell. Her first block isn’t far from the car lot, but there’s one looming obstacle that she’s yet to pass: A minivan.

More specifically, an East Meck parent who’s decided to block a green light by stopping to let their student out. As that same parent attempts a u-turn in the middle of the street, the traffic light turns red and Holley decides to kiss the idea of a tardy-free morning goodbye.

This isn’t some one-off incident but instead a typical morning on Monroe Road.

Monroe Road feels alive, for better or worse, especially on school days when everyone’s got somewhere they need to be. Everyone is desperate to get to school or work on time, and often, this desperation trumps empathy for others. One example of this can be seen in the form of East Meck parents who make reckless decisions for the sake of punctuality.

David Cioch, teacher in the Exceptional Children’s Department, has spent nine years observing Monroe Road’s morning traffic in all of its chaos; especially parents who make unsafe decisions while driving around East Meck. “We like to say, rules are merely a suggestion on Monroe Road,” Cioch said.

East Meck uses posted signage to direct drivers like “Student Parking” signs and “No Student Drop-Off” signs. Despite the clear cues, many parents ignore these messages. Cioch has seen parents getting out of their cars during green lights, vehicles making three point turns in the middle of traffic, parents driving off with their car doors open and more.

Cioch notes that traffic is worsening as fewer students want to walk in the cold weather. His advice for East Meck parents during these congested mornings: Be mindful of the expectations from the school. “I think it would be best practice for everyone to follow the protocol of entering the school and dropping their students off through the assigned location,” Cioch said.

Many students feel like each morning is a gamble when it comes to their commute to East. Sophomore Joshua McNeal notes that younger students without driver’s licenses can’t control their transportation. “I’m a bus rider myself and I’ve missed school before because my bus never came,” McNeal said.

Bus riders are given time to get to class when their buses run late, but when these buses don’t show up, students miss instructional time and receive discipline for their absence or late arrival. Tardy and absence policies aim to teach students punctuality, but the reality of the situation is that many don’t have agency over their rides. Lots of students rely on buses and carpooling to get to East and when these modes of transportation fail, they’re penalized.

So what’s the solution? Some mention crossing guards, while others think that students should simply wake up earlier. Our school’s second finest new source, The Beagle even suggests turning Monroe Road into a five lane superhighway. There’s no absolute answer to this query, but there is a proposal that would benefit every Monroe road regular: empathizing the perspectives of the people we deal with each morning, we can reduce everyone’s stress and make Monroe Road more pleasant for all of us. Or we could go with the superhighway idea. That’s just as effective. Maybe.