5 CENTERSPREAD
OPINION
TRANSFORMING POLICE CULTURE
THE VOL. 59, NO. 2
20
19 GRAPHICS
9-12 SPORTS
SPORTSXOP: HOMECOMING PE REQUIREMENTS
GUIDE TO: BRUNCH SPOTS
SMOKE SIGNAL MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL
October 20, 2023
41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539
Investigative REPORT: SCHOOL TRAFFIC OVERVIEW
areas of traffic
On Nov. 21, 2008, the Smoke Signal published an investigative report about traffic at MSJ, surveying the student body and detailing all aspects of the topic from safety concerns to daily crimes. In the 2008 survey, 60.8% of respondents reported commuting to school by car. In contrast, the 2023 survey shows that 72.9% of surveyed students drove or were driven to school, a 19.9% increase. In response to this changing landscape, the Mission Possible Parent Faculty Association (MPPFA) Traffic Safety Team has taken proactive measures to address increasing traffic around MSJ and ensure student safety during drop-off and pickup times. The organization oversees frequent drop-off and pickup locations by deploying a team of parent volunteer crossing guards across designated drop-off zones, coordinates with school administrators, and hosts informational sessions during MPPFA meetings. These initiatives have received positive feedback from community members. “When the parent volunteers are out there, [traffic] runs much more smoothly,” Math Teacher Melissa Saldivar said.
Major areas of school traffic include the parking lot loop, the Horseshoe Loop, and the Mission Boulevard Loop. Residential streets adjacent to Palm Avenue across campus, namely Mission Cielo Avenue and Mission Creek Drive, also attract notable congestion. Though conveniently close to MSJ, these residential streets offer little space for the influx of cars before and after school, causing significant backups. Moreover, the Mission Boulevard Loop’s proximity to Interstate Highway 680 (I-680) can also lead to traffic, with commuters accessing the freeway utilizing the same routes that cars heading to and from MSJ, Hopkins, and Chadbourne use. This creates long queues on the street despite it having multiple lanes, increasing commute time to arrive at school. Students from the Mission San Jose Elementary School attendance area often must pass the Mission Boulevard entrance to I-680, contributing to the traffic as well.
Nearby Schools This school year, William Hopkins Middle School added a sixth grade, increasing its student population from 940 to 1,417. To help safely accommodate the influx in students, Hopkins has expanded its drop-off and pickup areas. Cars can now drive through a new three-lane bus loop, stopping in the rightmost lane for students to exit. In addition, many parents have also used side streets such as Amapola Drive and Driscoll Terrace to drop off students. “We were actually anticipating more traffic because of the higher volume of families that we’re supporting, but … it’s been going really smoothly,” Hopkins Principal Nancy Kuei said. As a direct impact of its proximity to MSJ and Hopkins, Joshua Chadbourne Elementary School also experiences a lot of traffic. “If there’s any backup on Mission [Boulevard], we feel it immediately and that grows and flows into the other neighboring streets,” Tan said. However, the recent change in release times for MSJ, Hopkins, and Chadbourne has helped stagger and alleviate traffic. MSJ, which changed its schedule in compliance with CA Senate Bill 328, now ends at 3:19 p.m., while Hopkins and Chadbourne students finish school at 2:27 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. “With the change in schedules, I think that kind of tiered release has helped reduce traffic,” Chadbourne Family and Faculty Association President Alison Tan said.
Recent changes MSJ administration has taken several steps to help reduce school traffic. The Horseshoe Loop, which was previously blocked off afterschool, has been opened to cars this year, alleviating backups in nearby streets and neighborhoods. In addition, funds accrued from the sale of student parking permits have been used to improve school traffic. “This year, we purchased a lot of new signs and signage and a lot of new poles to help [better] the traffic flow,” MSJ Campus Supervisor Janice Wren said. MPPFA is also working with administration on a plan to involve students in the volunteer guard to help combat the effects of frequent parent volunteer shortages, as some drop-off and pickup areas sometimes have no parent volunteers monitoring traffic. Though the plan is in the initial stages of development, students would sign up and work in designated areas approved by administration, directing vehicle and pedestrian traffic and potentially receiving service hours for their work. How do you typically get to/from school?
By Anandita Devata, Michael Qu, Vidyuth Sridhar & Lucas Zhang Staff Writers Morning and afterschool traffic has become a recurring issue, affecting students as well as parents and staff from MSJ and nearby schools. The Smoke Signal conducted a school-wide Google Forms survey with 214 student respondents on September 25 and interviewed students and faculty to gain insight into the causes, areas, extent, and impact of traffic congestion.
Pedestrian Traffic The lack of crosswalks and pedestrian paths across the parking lot loop and Palm Avenue affects pedestrian traffic near MSJ. This often leads to students crossing roads at undesignated places, especially near the Mission Creek Trail. “If you’re on the other side of the creek, it’s a little bit [frustrating] to go all the way to the crosswalk, so [people] just cross through the cars, and that’s a little bit dangerous,” Tan said. In addition, the absence of a bike lane across Palm Avenue burdens bikers, causing additional safety issues. “My friends and I have been run off the road and not given [enough] space by drivers,” Junior Ishaan Awasthi said.
Have you noticed certain areas near MSJ backed up due to traffic? Mission Boulevard
16.8% 8.9% 62.1%
Palm Avenue
14.3% 34.5%
4.6%
Mission Creek Drive
10.7%
Mission Cielo Avenue (5.9%)
40.7% Walk Bike Drive: self-driven
Marigold Drive
Drive: drop-off Public Transport (1.4%)
safety assessment
In December 2016, the City of Fremont published an MSJ School Safety Assessment, “When there [are] this many cars … someissuing 13 site recommendations that the city, district, and school could take to improve body can get hit from behind as they’re taktraffic conditions. These improvements, which were estimated to cost $529,000, ining their backpack or their instrument out of the cluded installing nine high visibility crosswalks between Palm Avenue, Mission Boulevard, trunk.” — William Hopkins Middle School French and adjacent side streets, modifying the stoplight at the intersection of Mission Bouleand Leadership Teacher Kerrie Chabot vard and Palm Avenue to increase traffic flow, and building separate Class IV Bikeways on the west side of Palm Avenue and south side of Mission Boulevard. The city also “I think [the traffic at MSJ] is pretty well con- proposed seven policy recommendations, such as having the school distribute trolled. MSJ has always had a pretty stable vol- recommended walk/bike maps to students and families and participating unteer group that will do traffic.” — Joshua Chad- in Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools events, to increase the frebourne Elementary School Family and Faculty quency of alternative forms of transportation. MSJ has implemented some of these directives like holding monthly Walk to Association President Alison Tan School Wednesdays. However, other suggestions, such as building separate Class IV Bikeways along Palm Avenue “Occasionally the traffic gets really and Mission Boulevard, have currently remained unjammed, but usually it’s to the point that you realized. “It had to have more approval [such as from the city, county, or state] can still get to class on time. It makes sense that than just us wanting it done,” the traffic builds up because there’s like 1,600 Wren said. kids at this school.” — Tze Yao Chan, 10 PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS MICHAEL QU, VIDYUTH SRIDHAR & LUCAS ZHANG. GRAPHICS BY NEWS EDITOR KAYLEE LIU
ONLINE
THIS MONTH
www.thesmokesignal.org
THE ERAS TOUR MOVIE REVIEW
HOMECOMING EXTRAVAGANZA
On October 13, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour released in theaters for a one-time only concert experience and is set to be one of the highest grossing concert films. View the Smoke Signal’s review on our website.
This month, students enjoyed food trucks, student performances, and games at MSJ’s annual Homecoming Extravaganza. View the Smoke Signal’s coverage and photo gallery of the event on our website.
FOR MORE COVERAGE, VISIT www.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG