Residents in one Kansas community say teenage drivers frustrate them.
Neighbors have complained about trouble along Boyd Avenue for the past couple of years, said Newton High School principal Roger Erickson. Dozens of students park alongside the road to get easy access to the tech and agriculture buildings. Now, there will be a ban to curb the parking problem.
Erickson attended a recent city council meeting and asked for the board to consider a parking ban during the school day. The council approved the ban.
Resident Keith Kelsey said a student sped through 17th street last winter; this is an area on the north side of the high school.
“It’s a speed problem,” Kelsey said. “Come to find out, she wasn’t even supposed to be on this street, but she ran up and tore his mailbox clear down and then hit some retaining wall around the tree.”
The teenager did return to the scene of the crash, but Kelsey said it’s a continuing problem. Though he said not all students are cautious drivers, he’s relieved of the new change.
Principal Erickson is certain students will be frustrated by the change. Now, students will have to park on the south end of Newton High School. The distance from the parking lot to the ag and tech buildings is about one-fourth of a mile.
Some students, however, said they are frustrated by the change. Newton High School student Garrett Schmidt said the road was created for the agriculture building. He said not all students are bad drivers, and he’d like the city council to reconsider any plans.