The left turn from Brambleton Road onto the Titan Trail that many HVHS students take to school in the mornings has caused controversy because of its inconvenience. There has been much talk about the amount of time spent at the left turn at this intersection. Whether its noticeable or not, there have been changes made already to help the flow of traffic at the light, however some frustration still remains.
Many students have been complaining about being late, witnessing car wrecks, and more issues associated with the left turn. Students who leave their houses with plenty of time, but end up getting stuck at this light, become late or arrive to school at the last second. The main issue is that the light only stays green long enough for about three to four cars to get through. Even with the yellow flashing, hardly anyone can get through because there are so many people turning right into the school, making it so you can’t turn without risking a fender-bender or a sideways collision. Many students have even started going through the St. John Lutheran Church parking lot, so that they get a green light and skip the left turn. Jack Barbour (11) says, “It is such an inconvenience, it has cars stopped up sometimes. By the time I get there in the morning, I will go over to the Church and pull around to that light, because it is faster getting into school.”
On an academic level, here at HVHS, you get more penalties for being late then missing school. For this reason if people who live five minutes away do not give themselves twenty minutes to get to school, they will be late, and may decide to just not come. Jack Barbour (11) agrees saying, “When there are buses there, the line to the turn gets back so far, that it can take around 20 minutes just to get onto the Titan Trail. If you don’t get there at the right time, you will be late.” Students have not found a specific solution, however it can be assumed there will be much more discussion on how this can be fixed.
You may be wondering what has already been altered with this light. “V-Dot has already been notified, they have tried to change the light sequence so that it lasts longer, on the left hand turn,” says Officer Andrea Morris, HVHS’s school police officer. They have already made it longer than it was, by including a long blinking yellow light, so that when the way is clear cars can make the left turn. Brambleton itself has the priority of the road and the lights, so while they were able to make slight changes to the light, there still has to be a consistent flow of traffic. However, Brambleton is open to changes, “they are absolutely open to changes, if you have a specific idea, you can send in a request to V-Dot and they will review it,” says Officer Andrea Morris. There are changes in progress right now for other parts of the intersection, but none in place for the left turn. So, if you would like to send in a request you can!
