Samantha Pinsky
Staff Writer
Costa’s completion of the new math and science building over the past summer, as well as the current construction on the finger buildings, has led to passing period congestion that may threaten student safety.
Traffic amongst students is due to limited accessibility; the construction site has blocked off entrances to the west locker hall and the new building has only three closely placed gates.
“We need students to discover the stairs on the East end of the math and science building,” Principal Dr. Ben Dale said. “Everybody, no matter where they are going, uses the West staircase.”
The construction of the finger buildings has moved all teachers out of the forties to seventies halls. Some teachers without a room in the new building were relocated to the bungalows on the northwest side of campus, which most students access through the west locker hall.
“We are trying to funnel northbound students through the hallway and southbound students through the field,” Vice Principal Deborah Hofreiter said. “Crossing the field is so much easier than trying to make your way down the West Hall.”
The traffic offers potential safety issues. With a 200-student increase this year, Costa is more populated than ever, which contributes to congestion alongside construction.
“I worry about my safety when I enter that hallway,” senior Adriana Ortiz said. “I have considered abandoning my locker to share with a friend in the East hall.”
To ensure the wellbeing of students, Costa administration brought in a fire marshall to assess the safety status of the West hallway.
“The fire marshall said that there is no safety issue. In case of emergency, the doors out into the finger buildings are open,” Dale said.
The switch from Aries to Powerschool made distribution of lockers a more difficult task than it has been in previous years. Instead of automatically assigning freshman to the lockers of graduated seniors, Costa administration had to complete the process by hand.
“I was not assigned a locker on registration day,” Freshman Kayla Vandermark said. “I now share a locker with my friend.”
The Mira Costa Associated Student Body proposed a number of ideas to the administration to improve traffic flow and make areas of the school more accessible.
“A gate is being installed next to the snack stand by the football field,” Hofreiter said. “This will allow students to access the boys’ gym through the East hall, and therefore divert traffic from the West hall.”
A security guard has already been placed outside the entrance of the new building to regulate the flow of people, according to Vice Principal Deborah Hofreiter. As construction dies down, traffic should gradually decrease.
“Construction on the finger buildings will be complete by the time students return from Winter break,” Dale said.
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