WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched for miles from Pinecrest Academy through the Hawthorne Village neighborhood on the first days of school in Pasco County, affecting Avalon Park Boulevard and River Glen Boulevard and leaving some residents unable to leave or enter their neighborhoods for hours.
Watch report from Annette Gutierrez
Parents and residents say the gridlock stemmed from a route change made by Pinecrest Academy, which redirected car line traffic into the Avalon Park neighborhood instead of onto County Road 54.
Jennifer Huff, a Wesley Chapel resident, described the situation on the first day.
"Chaos, anger, frustration, gridlock. It was absolute madness," Huff said.
The backups affected both morning drop-off and afternoon pickup. Michael Cannizzo, a parent at New River Elementary, said the morning line on Thursday, Aug. 13 lasted more than two hours.
"So yesterday morning there was a line from about 7 a.m. to about 9:30 that was backed up," Cannizzo said.
The afternoon was worse.
"Yesterday afternoon was really bad. We had double-lane traffic this entire neighborhood all the way past my townhouse," Cannizzo said.
Mary Bone, a parent at Pinecrest Academy, said she was stuck in traffic well into Thursday evening.
"We were in traffic yesterday until 7 o'clock last night for a pickup... It's crazy. It's a lot to take in. It's a lot when you've got a 3-year-old and you're sitting in a car for 8 hours a day," Bone said.
Beyond the inconvenience, some residents raised safety concerns. Chris Olsen, a parent at New River Elementary, said emergency vehicles couldn't get through.
"I think emergency vehicles can't get through. Yesterday it was blocked. Both lanes of River Glen were blocked. There was no northbound through traffic," Olsen said.
His daughter, Anna Olsen, a 5th grader at New River Elementary, described how the traffic affected her grandmother.
"Yesterday my grandma, she was stuck at our house, from 2:30 to 5:30 because she couldn't get into her neighborhood," Anna Olsen said.
Huff put it bluntly.
"This is basically we are in jail. For 6 hours, you cannot get into the neighborhood," Huff said.
The Pasco Sheriff's Office received 14 complaints from the area, and Pasco County said it received over 100. Though social media reaction from Tampa Bay 28's Annette Gutierrez Facebook Post on her Wesley Chapel Community Group suggested the problem was far more widespread — with residents describing the situation as a nightmare, unacceptable, and unsafe.
By the second day of school, Friday, Aug. 14, drivers reported some improvement. Kimberly Smith, a parent at Pinecrest Academy, noticed a difference.
"Today is actually much, much better. Yesterday was like pandemonium," Smith said.
Cannizzo agreed.
"It's definitely improving from day one to day two," Cannizzo said.
Pasco County's Traffic Operations Manager sent an email saying he wasn't consulted about the route changes before they were implemented, but that the county is now aware and working to modify traffic signals on County Road 54 to help reduce backups. The county added that "we are taking action to immediately rectify this situation."
Pinecrest Academy administration did not respond to a request for comment, but a flyer on Pinecrest Academy's website states the school is redirecting traffic out of the Hawthorne Village neighborhood and onto County Road 54. The Avalon Park group developer said it has no say in the solution but is aware that the county and the school are working to find one.
Despite the frustration, some parents expressed patience with the process. Smith said the first day requires some adjustment.
"It was the first day. You have to give them a chance to kind of iron out all the bumps," Smith said.
Cannizzo echoed that sentiment.
"You can make a mistake as long as you fix the mistake, right?" Cannizzo said.
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