Traffic patterns change. They’ve changed along Business 30 with the construction of the Hwy. 30 bypass.
And they’re changing on the west end of Mount Vernon, with all the new draws to the area.
There’s the new Performing Arts Center, which showcases music and drama performances for our area high schoolers.
There’s the Lester Buresh Family Community Wellness Center, which draws people who are looking to participate in athletic competitions.
The new tennis courts at the Mount Vernon High School, the revamped soccer fields for Cornell College and Mount Vernon High School, the updated softball field for Cornell College and Mount Vernon High School.
The Small Sports Complex arena being refurbished at Cornell College.
And now the proposed athletic activities complex for Mount Vernon Schools.
As superintendent Greg Batenhorst stated, these changes and more to come for the school district are making a new hub of activity in the Mount Vernon community.
And the newer buildings that get added to draw people to a location, the more traffic that’s going to attract.
We’ve seen the traffic impact in mornings and afternoons when schools are in session, and the need for traffic control at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Palisades Road to keep people coming and going to the school complexes.
Which is why it’s great to hear that Cornell College, Mount Vernon Schools and the City of Mount Vernon have been talking about the impacted traffic patterns on Palisades Road and the west end of the city, as well as potentially exploring another access point to the schools either from the east/west or north/south as a future project.
Yes, these conversations are in early stages, but they’re addressing concerns our first responders are seeing as a need. And there are minor changes already coming, especially setting no parking zones in the loop in front of the Mount Vernon High School and along 10th Avenue, parking which anyone who has traveled these roads knows can make those roads extremely congested.
There will be impacts in neighboring Stonebrook with the construction of the activities complex and, like the school and city note, this may take a year or more to decide if just temporary no parking signs are handling the new traffic flow to the area.
Addressing the changing traffic patterns is going to be an ongoing concern, and seeing those lines of communication between all these partners may ease more of the congestion on our city streets.