Major changes to traffic pattern around Cairo High School told

Cairo High School has revised the traffic flow around the campus beginning with the opening of school this week and parents and students are encouraged to make note of the major change.

All parents driving students to school and picking them up in the afternoons will access the campus by Sixth Avenue S.E only. The school’s resource officer will direct traffic at the intersection of Fifth Street S.E. and Sixth Avenue S.E. to maintain the flow of traffic and allow parents to enter and exit the single entry and exit point.

Parents will proceed down Sixth Avenue S.E. to the street that runs in front of the CHS Gymnasium, then down to Syrupmaker Drive. Student drop-off will be at a point between Roddenbery Music Building and Grady County Vocational Center. Parents will then turn into the student parking lot and exit back onto Sixth Avenue and then right to Fifth Street S.E.

CHS students of driving age may follow the same route, but will enter the main entrance of the student parking lot where the attendant station is located and they will also exit by the same route. Students are also permitted to access the campus from the north side of the campus via Seventh Street S.E. and take Syrupmaker Drive around the track and enter the student parking lot at the northeast end of the parking lot. The students may also use the route in the afternoons to depart.

“We want to maintain an efficient and safe traffic flow around Cairo High School. Our attendance clerk will be located at the Vocational Center this year and this will make it convenient for late drop-offs and early dismissals,” CHS principal Chris Lokey said in making the announcement of the changes.

The new traffic flow also allows the school to better secure the school and control where and how people enter the campus.

“Maintaining a secure and safe school environment for our students, faculty and staff is our top priority. We respectfully ask our parents, students and local residents to be patient and to work with us by adhering to this plan,” Lokey said.

The row of parking at the north end of the student parking lot is designated for visitor parking and parents dropping students after the tardy bell sounds each morning should park there and students will check in with the attendance clerk inside the Vocational Center. Likewise, if parents must pick up their student from school before the end of the school day, they will need to see the attendance clerk to check out their student.

Only faculty, staff and visitors will be permitted to enter the campus at the front of the school via the sevice road in front of the band practice field and exit through the main entrance, which creates a one-way traffic flow, according to the high school principal.

“The first couple of weeks the traffic around all of our schools is hectic as we all get back into the swing of a new school year. By having our resource officer helping direct traffic and with the cooperation of the crossing guard we should be able to maintain the flow of traffic coming to and from the high school,” Lokey said.