As Centennial dives further into the school year, the addition of the crosswalks and new traffic pattern could still be a concern. While, statistically, the new crosswalks prove to be a safer way to cross for walkers, it still raises some confusion.

 There are two crosswalks; one for crossing Centennial Lane and the other is placed at the light nearing the exit of the parking lot. Because there are two crosswalks, this makes it a little confusing to know when it’s your turn.

The signs at each designated crosswalk either depict an orange symbol of a hand, or someone walking, expressing when it is safe to cross. Without realizing it, walkers tend to look at the closest sign to them to see if it is okay to walk. But, the problem with that is sometimes that particular sign is not for your specific crosswalk. One freshman, Natalie Gbaba says, “I thought it was going to be a good idea, but it’s not helpful at all. You have to pay attention because the sign is really deceiving, and it’s hard to be that alert early in the morning.”

The other main concern is that most student drivers often fail to yield to pedestrians outside of the morning hours of school. Excited to be out after nearly six hours of school, students do not have the patience to wait for walkers to cross.

Colton Seigel, a sophomore walker with a strong opinion on the matter, says, “I don’t like it. The right hand turn lane out of the parking lot either has a green light, a yellow light, or right turn on red after stop. Because of this, they literally can always go, and most students don’t bother yielding to us unless we’re already in the middle of the road.”

Also aware of the still lingering concerns, Principal Dr. Carl Perkins explains, “I’ve contacted the transportation services about it already. The point of the crosswalk is to channel students safely across the street. That’s still a dangerous place, with or without the crosswalk.”

Hopefully as the year goes on, some of this will be tweaked so that walkers are not only safe, but also happy.