In the bustling city of Yorba Linda, people are always going places. With the ever-growing population still on the rise, more cars are being brought to the area. This has led to traffic issues, especially at Yorba Linda High School and the surrounding neighborhoods. As experienced by many people on a daily occurrence, it can take up to five minutes just to get out of the school. Following  numerous complaints, the city decided to address this issue by building a traffic light.

A few years ago when the idea of the traffic light first started, the leaders of our city had a meeting with our principal. He agreed that something should be done, evaluating the possibilities of where it could be built. After suggesting both the side of the school and the main entrance, they decided that the main entrance would be the best option, considering the inconvenience people experience because they are unable to make a left turn.

Even though it may seem simple, lots of science and statistics are involved. Anthony Johnson, the traffic commissioner in Yorba Linda, states that “over the years, the people that help run the traffic in Yorba Linda have taken multiple studies measuring the amounts of cars and the times they pass, finding a correlation between the two.” Through this, it has been shown that the busiest times of the day are when people are dropped off at around 7:45 a.m. and when they are picked up at 2:45 p.m. 

Unfortunately, when the original design of the traffic light was about 80 percent done, some issues arose. Traffic engineering manager Tony Wang recounts that “after digging underground, the construction workers noticed there were some pipes and structures already built, causing a utility conflict”. To resolve this, they found a new location, which happened to be on the property of the school. Asking for permission was not a problem, as the district was willing to help,  knowing it would reduce the congestion at the school.

In building this design, a contractor is needed to bore a hole to check for any other possible conflicts. It also takes up to five months for the traffic pole and other resources needed to be shipped. However, the new light is guaranteed to be built by summer 2020. Sophie Zhang (9) is looking forward to this, saying “This will have a great impact on students, as it is less stressful for new drivers maneuvering the traffic, and safer for kids to cross the street to school.” It will be great to see less crowded school, and improve the well-being of the many drivers we have at the school.