HAVERHILL — Nicole Bowen has endured more than her share of traffic jams at Haverhill High.
So, as classes began yesterday, she was relieved to pull into the school parking lot without waiting.
"It's better than last year and, with the new entrance, it was a lot easier getting in," Bowen, a Haverhill High senior, said of the new entrance and exit lanes to end traffic woes that plagued students and teachers in the past.
Yesterday was the opening day of school for grades one to 12 in Haverhill, and all eyes were on the high school. During the summer, a contractor redesigned the school's student, staff and visitor entrance, plus the exit lane, parking lots and drop-off zones. It was the final phase of a $32 million renovation of the building and grounds.
The entrance and exit lanes that caused traffic headaches in past years have been moved away from the bus drop-off area. Now one lane carries traffic onto the school property and two lanes exit onto Monument Street. Formerly, there was one lane in and one lane out.
Nearly two hours before the city's elementary and middle-school students showed up for opening day at their schools, Haverhill High juniors and seniors who drive to school had good things to say about the changes. The improvements include a freshly paved student parking lot at the rear of the school.
"The potholes are gone," said Bowen after parking her car. "The lot looks a lot better and there are more spaces.''
"I like it. The flow is a lot easier than last year," senior Victoria Vitti said after parking her car.
Interim Superintendent James Scully said he was unhappy with somewhat sloppy conditions inside Haverhill High the day before school opened, but yesterday he toured the building and was pleased with what he saw.
"There is still work to be done but it looked good," he said of what a cleaning crew accomplished the night before the start of classes.
While smoother traffic flow and a clean building were the issues at Haverhill High, schools elsewhere in the city focused on student safety as children arrived.
At Walnut Square Elementary School, parents found they had to park farther away from the entrance than in the past. The city has painted new yellow lines on Main Street where buses drop off and pick up children. Cars are banned from that area.
"I think the new bus lane is great," said parent Tanya Bonfiglioli, whose son Jackson started first grade yesterday.
"I think this will draw a lot of attention to the problem we have with cars speeding by here," Bonfiglioli said.
Mayor James Fiorentini handed out free pencils to children who stood in line waiting to enter the school. Scully chatted with parents while School Committee President Shaun Toohey and his wife, Tatum, said goodbye to their son Jack before he entered the school to begin first grade with teacher Judy Reilly.
"Our daughter Delainey had Mrs. Reilly three years ago," Tatum Toohey said. "We love Mrs. Reilly."
Back at the high school, maintenance worker Bob Daly spent part of the morning directing cars around the student drop-off area. Some drivers who didn't see the new signs indicating where to stop were causing a minor backup.
"It's the first day and I'm just trying to get people to go the right way," Daly said as he barked directions to drivers who were unfamiliar with the changes.
Tom Daggett, chief of security for Haverhill schools, directed traffic as it entered from Monument Street and traveled the long and straight road leading around the pool building and to the student drop-off zone.
"All the cars that would have been stopping in front of the school last year and causing tie-ups have been flowing through the lot very smoothly," Daggett said. "I didn't think it would go this well, but it did."
Scully visited the high school to monitor the flow of traffic. He stopped to chat with Daggett.
"Things seem to be going very well, although we didn't plan on the rain," Scully said. Police Traffic Safety Officer Edward Watson was there to keep an eye on the traffic as well.
Scully, along with Mary Malone, assistant superintendent of curriculum, and Kara Kosmes, assistant superintendent of finance, fanned out to visit schools throughout the city yesterday.
They encountered few problems, although Scully said there were some classrooms with about 30 students, which was more than he wanted.
"We've assigned aides to most of those classrooms already and over the next few days we'll sort out the problems," he said.
Kindergarten classes in Haverhill begin on Monday.
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