What sounds like a simple task is becoming a dangerous mission for parents dropping off and picking up their students at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Moline.
News 8 has received several news tips from WQAD viewers who are parents of students who go to Wilson. While they say they love the school, the traffic around it is unsafe.
"It's a wonderful school," says Kelly Mattson, who has a 6th grader at Wilson. "It's just getting them there in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon. It's just a busy, busy place."
News 8 decided to follow Mattson and see the situation firsthand. Click on the video above to see the congestion yourself and some of the other traffic challenges.
One of the biggest concerns revolves around students crossing the street on the east side of the school on 48th Street Place. Even though there is a crosswalk, many cars do not stop to let students cross.
Assistant Principal, Brian Prybil, says they are already in talks with the City of Moline and the Moline Police Department to move the crosswalk more north on 48th Street Place when the weather warms up in the spring.
"By moving that crosswalk, it'll allow traffic to flow better out of our grounds and it'll increase visibility.."
Mr. Prybil says the congestion stems from the addition of 6th graders to the school in the 2012-2013 school year. During that year, the school created a bus lane to help with traffic flow and also added a "No Parking Zone" near the current crosswalk. Mr. Prybil says they also worked with MetroLink to offer busing and create a bus stop on 48th Street Place.
So far this year, Mr. Prybil says the city had added turn signals to the 48th Street and 12th Avenue intersection to take more congestion away from the crosswalk. The next step is to move it and see how all those changes have improved their traffic flow pattern.
Meanwhile, Mr. Prybil has some suggestions for parents to make it easier to pick up and drop off their students.
"We do open our doors at 7:30am, so the earlier you can drop off your kids, the better," he says. "We also have crosswalks up at 12th Avenue and 48th Street which are automated. In addition, we have a partnership with the church down the road in which they allow people to drop off their students in that church parking lot."
Overall, parents and school leaders have the same goal in mind - student safety. If you would ever like to contact WQAD regarding a story or concern, click here.