Large groups huddled in the middle of the hallway. Students bumping into each other. An endless crowd of people pushing past each other. That is the reality that WCHS students face in the hallways and at long last, the administration has stepped up to solve this problem. As part of the new WCHS 2024-25 school year blueprint, stop lights and traffic controllers have been placed in every hallway.
“The backup in the hallway is beyond ridiculous,” WCHS sophomore Nora O’Conner said. “It takes forever to get from classes and honestly, I am really tired of it. I have advocated for stop lights in the hallways for a long time, so I am happy the administration is doing something about it.”
The MCPS administration has been testing this initiative in WCHS before rolling it out in the rest of the county. Along with lanes placed along the floor, stoplights in the hallways and detentions for students who break the rules, traffic controllers were hired to direct traffic in the hallways.
“Honestly, I wish I had traffic controllers when I was in school because it was out of hand,” WCHS traffic controller Brett Freeman said. “But there are definitely problems – students do not follow our directions, which can lead to hallway crashes. Some have even tried to fight me. So I give them a traffic ticket, which leads to detention.”
There has been a steady uptick in detentions as these new initiatives have rolled out. Some students have complained about getting detentions for unfair reasons, and many do not support the new traffic controllers.
“The traffic controllers are not doing enough,” O’Connor said. “It is annoying when the light does not turn and it is just you walking in the hallway. I think the detentions are unnecessary and they make people angry. There need to be fewer repercussions for traffic violations.”
Another part of this new plan is to create mandatory lessons on hallway rules so students can learn how to navigate the hallways safely. These classes teach students basic traffic etiquette, reading turn signals, following the traffic controllers’ directions, and understanding what different colored lanes mean.
“People need to take the hallway classes to learn traffic etiquette properly, ” O’Connor said. “It’s simple. Follow the rules of the hallway, and don’t be stupid.”
