Meredith Traffic @ Interlakes
 

Yesterday, at just about 3PM, I got caught in the Meredith Lakes Region school traffic. I was heading east on RT 25. Two police officers had traffic totally blocked on RT 25. I got stuck on the hill right after Rite Aid and sat there and did not move for almost 20 minutes. While some of this may be because of the start of school year, I suspect the new starting/ending times are playing havoc with traffic. It is obvious to me that the Meredith Police need to do something quickly to rearrange the flows and the access to the school parking lots from RT 25. Having two officers standing in the middles of RT25 and not able to do anything is just bad. For the time being, I would suggest everyone avoid Meredith from 2:45 to 3:30PM. There are creative solutions that can happen.....restricting turns, etc. etc. but the police need to take serious action now. Just my opinion...

Absolutely.... It's a nightmare not for just you folks driving that way but also us parents that have to go in there.... You're correct something needs to be done soon and it's not just in the afternoon it's the AM also. What's going to happen when it's Winter big problems... They need to go back to the old way. Lots of us parents are very concerned.

What happened to taking the bus?
 

Rather than having parents drop off and pick up their kids, why not have the kids take the bus. Problem solved. (And don't say that kids "have" to be dropped off or picked up because of [INSERT REASON]. The bus was good enough for my parents, my brothers and I, and my kids.)

Isn't it great to be able to bitch about traffic that is bringing children to and from school? To be so inconvenienced by a 20 minute (?) delay in your life that you want a resolution to the issue.

Inconvenienced to the point that you will suggest various resolution that will cost local tax payers additional money... to save you from a slightly longer ride home.

Sorry, but School Happens. Just my opinion...

O)K, so it's wintertime, it is snowing or worse, rain freezing on contact, traffic is at a standstill for 20 minutes. This means no highway department trucks can treat the hill. Now the road surface is sheer ice. Anybody want to be half way up or down that hill? What if there is a medical emergency or fire east of the traffic jam, or an ambulance transporting someone to LRGH from a point east of the hill. Twenty minutes is a long tome to wait. This is much more than an inconvenience. They MUST solve this problem now.

Apparently you did not read or understand my original post correctly. I did not suggest anything that would cost local taxpayers money. I suggested some work on traffic flow patterns and access. I was not being critical of any school child trying to get to their school, so I have no idea where you got that impression. There are many issues here, including public safety as others have also pointed out. You may think of is as a bitch (incorrectly), but my post was pointing out the obvious in hopes that Meredith officials would make some serious changes before further problems arise and gave a warning to others to avoid the area if they did not want to wait 20 minutes on a hill. My guess was that yesterdays traffic was backed up onto RT3 and it wasn't even raining or snowing. By the way, maybe a creative set of solutions might actually save local taxpayers the money being spent to post two police officers at RT25 instead of doing other important policing activities.

Serious question...

What is the expected outcome by posting this thread?

Find an alternative route??

A real problem
 

The shade towards tummyman kind of surprises me here. It's not just 20 minutes. It's 20 minutes twice a day for 180 days. The school really should figure this out for its neighbors

What has changed this year or has it always been like this?

Amen Major, great post.

Alternate route
 

Just take Pleasant St out of Meredith to Meredith Neck, take left onto Bernard Ridge Rd. End at top of hill. Little traffic coming up since all back up at school. Do the reverse going to Meredith. Of course this will be backed up if everybody takes this route.

Dave M

The hours for school changed this year for students and also they changed the traffic pattern how kids are dropped off and picked up. :(

When students take the buss now you have High School, Middle and Elementary students all on one buss.

It would cost the taxpayers nothing if they just went back to the old way it was last year.

My daughter is in 3rd grade. I certainly would not want her on a bus with middle/high school kids. She learns enough from the other 8 year olds :)


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Absolutely agreed.... My son is in 4th and don't want him on the busses now they have changed it to have all the grades.

I too got stuck in the traffic. It sucked and probably could be avoided with better planning on my part I will just avoid the area. Ymmv

Wow! Find these comments on exposure to other kids interesting. Do you control the ages of those they come in contact with outside of school? Just not sure what you are trying to accomplish. I learned a lot of GOOD things from older kids. And I saw some of their evil ways, I recognized such because I had parents that didn't put blinders over my eyes. I liked exposure to the good bad and ugly and would have resented my parents for limiting it.

Yes, I make sure she does not hang out with high school kids at the age of 8 outside of school as well. Do you think the world we live in now is the same one you grew up in years ago?


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I am perplexed as well. I first started riding a bus in my Freshman year when we moved to rural NH. The bus picked up K-12 and stopped at 3 schools (K-6, 7-8 and 9-12 schools). The bus driver was WELL in control of the children on her bus. If you screwed up... NO BUS FOR YOU! It was that simple.

It has nothing to do with "outside of school". It is a BUS that the taxpayers pay for as part of the school budget. If you do not want to have the school provide bus service, cut their budget for bus services.... of course make sure the rest of the population agrees with you.....

If you read what Gary asked us he asked if we controlled age groups they hung out with outside of school as well and I said yes I do.

Wow! Find these comments on exposure to other kids interesting. Do you control the ages of those they come in contact with outside of school? Just not sure what you are trying to accomplish. I learned a lot of GOOD things from older kids. And I saw some of their evil ways, I recognized such because I had parents that didn't put blinders over my eyes. I liked exposure to the good bad and ugly and would have resented my parents for limiting it.

As you well know, I was not commenting on "hanging out with other age groups outside of school". It was a clear and factual statement about riding a BUS.

Mince my comment all you want. I am not the one making these decisions.

Meredith Traffic @ Interlakes
 

Wow!, everybody, take a breath and take a step back. Take you finger off the trigger, put on the safety, and relax before someone gets hurt.

As I see it, tummyman posted a comment, that is all. All of a sudden, a brawl breaks out for no reason whatsoever. Personally, I thought what was posted was fine, relevant, and timely. I don't think there is any cause for the intensity of responding posts.

If you choose to read the OP again, she posted a comment WITH suggestions for what needs to be corrected in the town. so, no, that was not all. That is what prompted the responses to her post.

BTW, I did not view it as a brawl, just disagreeing with her suggestion that Meredith alter all traffic patters so she can get home 10-15 minutes sooner.

Schedule Change
 

From the Laconia Daily Sun, the school start times have been changed.


http://www.laconiadailysun.com/newsx...o-new-schedule

Reading that article I don't believe the times have been changed since the start of school. I think the article is talking about the changes in times they made for this school year.
I don't think the logging trucks are the problem! LOL

Helicopter parents rule the day.