Editorial: More roads needed to funnel traffic at West Ridge

The home handyman thought he would increase the drainage speed of his sink by installing a second drain. Problem is, he attached both drains to the same drain line so that no more water could be carried away. He needed a bigger pipe.We find ourselves in a similar situation with respect to traffic leaving West View High School.Sullivan County just spent $3 million on a new access road to West View, which should open soon. Once it does, in the afternoons for dismissal, students would exit to the current only entrance to Lynn Road, while parents would exit onto the new entrance to Henry Harr Drive, said the principal.Problem is, both roads are attached to the same "drain line" so that if the traffic pattern leaving the school doesn't change, neither will the rate at which traffic leaves the campus. That's because Henry Harr Drive is simply another exit to and from Lynn Road.The school serves about 1,600 students in grades 9-12, and while it may claim it no longer has just one way in and out for buses, students, parents and other visitors during the school day and for after-school and weekend events, that remains the case.The current exit on Lynn Road delivers traffic south to Shipley Ferry Road and north to Henry Harr Road. It then continues from Henry Harr Road to Airport Parkway and Interstate 81. The new "entrance" is merely a shortcut to Henry Harr Road.West Ridge opened just more than three years ago off Exit 63 on I-81."The school will be sharing more detailed guidance on traffic" before the road opens, Director of Schools Chuck Carter said. During the Sept. 13 Sullivan County Board of Education meeting, West Ridge High School Principal George Laoo gave the board of education a rundown on the access road that is in the process of being paved and could be ready for traffic Oct. 10.There are other benefits of the work. The access road will have a new parking lot doubling as a band and Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps or Junior ROTC practice area to the west or Kingsport side of the road.The existing tennis courts are to the east of the new road, toward Bristol.Laoo and Carter said students walking to and from the student parking area will continue to walk across an area with no vehicle traffic as a safety measure in the mornings and afternoons.Plans had been for the school to have another access connecting to what becomes Airport Parkway or State Route 357 in front of Second Harvest Food Bank.However, plans for that entry point were put on hold after the school system bought land in front of the Lynn Road entrance, although school officials have said eventually a new road may be built there.This proposed road, starting at Jericho Lane leading into Second Harvest with an additional section added to make it to the high school, was talked about as a public road or a driveway. The connector road to Henry Harr Road is a driveway."At some point, the stars will align, and you will see a road that goes out to the main drag," Laoo said.Perhaps. But this "third" entrance to West Ridge, if ever built, will — as with the current entrance and the upcoming "second" entrance — also deliver all West Ridge traffic to the same place, Airport Parkway, and from there to I-81, north or south.If West Ridge congestion is ever to be solved, it will need a bigger pipe directly from the school. One way to accomplish that is to four-lane Lynn Road south and four-lane Shipley Ferry Road to deliver two lanes of outgoing traffic to the next access on I-81.If West Ridge congestion is ever to be solved, it will need a bigger pipe directly from the school. One way to accomplish that is to four-lane Lynn Road south and four-lane Shipley Ferry Road to deliver two lanes of outgoing traffic to the next access on I-81.