“When I write my autobiography, Glenwood Road will have three chapters,” said Hoover High School Principal Kevin Welsh, who has worked at the campus since 1982.
Traffic improvements — cement and fenced medians, crossing guards, flashing red lights and additional signs warning of upcoming stop signs — have been added along the busy roadway. Additional construction that would narrow crosswalks and create impediments to speeding drivers are expected to begin later this year, Deputy Supt. Richard Sheehan said.
Measures to slow traffic and reduce impatient driving along Glenwood Road were demanded after 11-year-old Meri Nalbandyan was killed as she walked in a marked crosswalk to Toll on Glenwood Road. Her death initiated several community meetings in the Hoover High School auditorium that prompted school, district and city officials to put the additional safety measure in place.
Drive down Glenwood Road today and there is a high probability of freeway-like congestion. But that might be a good thing, Welsh said.
“People know when you approach Glenwood Road and you see the median, crossing guards, flashing red lights, you are physically being told this is an area in which you need to show some care,” he said. “The physical limitations of the road prevent people from trying to speed around cars and a reduction in people who are double parking and dropping off kids in the zones where they should not do that.”
Parents are breaking the habit of picking up and dropping off kids on Glenwood Road and instead are following Hoover staff and district advice to use streets to the east, west and north.
Welsh acknowledged the occasional erratic teenage driver, but said parents, not students, have traditionally been the worst offenders.
