Souhegan students get early introduction to common work-force problem

Published: Sunday, February 7, 2010

Every weekday morning, many Souhegan High School students make their way through the quiet village of Amherst in their cars in order to arrive at school on time by 7:30.

However, most students run into a slight problem by the time they’re within 2 or 3 miles of the school on Boston Post Road: They find themselves trapped in a traffic backup that would seem to make more sense if it were 6 p.m. and they were on Route 101A.

It’s a strange phenomenon that anyone trying to pass through Boston Post Road in Amherst – a town with a population of about 11,000 – must idle in 15 minutes of traffic each morning of a school day. The traffic is extensive, and it creates delays not only for the teachers and students of Souhegan, but also for the Amherst residents who need to go to work in the morning.

Furthermore, the traffic backup creates a situation that’s environmentally and economically unfriendly when hundreds of idling engines emit CO2 each morning.

Whether or not the crossing guard on duty helps alleviate traffic conditions or makes them worse is a matter of opinion.

“The flow is usually better when drivers are left to direct themselves,” senior Tate Molaghan said.

Senior Zane Pokorny said, “The traffic can certainly be improved. I think that traffic generally flows much smoother when drivers direct themselves.”

In the past, the town has considered creating an extra turning lane in front of the school, but the idea was never voted on and has since dissipated. Other ideas to improve traffic such as installing a traffic light, eliminating the crossing guard and using all of the school’s potential entrance ways more effectively have also been suggested.

However, until a viable improvement is voted on and implemented, Souhegan students, teachers and other morning commuters on Boston Post Road will have to continue to endure that painful yet near-universal aspect of the American work force.

Justin DeWaele is a senior at Souhegan High School in Amherst.