AUSTIN, Texas — It's a case of Déjà vu for residents in the Circle C North neighborhood in Southwest Austin, as they are once again experiencing the headache of afterschool pickup at Gorzycki Middle School.
The school's designated pickup area is in front of the school off of Slaughter Lane. But each day, parents in their vehicles are parked along the street on Allenton Avenue and Colberg Drive waiting for their children after the final bell.
It's proven to be a traffic nightmare for residents of the neighborhood.
Kimberly Hart is at the center of it. She explained that the problem isn't new, but the frustration remains and it is now time for a solution.
"It's dangerous for the kids. It's dangerous for us. It's dangerous for pets," Hart said.
She said some of the results of cars being parked throughout the neighborhood is the lights in her front yard getting damaged and her driveway being blocked, forcing her to rework her schedule when she needs to leave the house.
"It's easy problem solving," Hart said.
Back in May, at the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year, KVUE crews were at the scene where the same scenario played out: cars lined up on the same street, parked in front of the driveways of homes and children scattered as they got picked up.
Aug. 14 was the first day of school for schools in the Austin Independent School District (AISD), and the issues at Gorzycki appear to remain.
KVUE reached out to AISD leaders to see if there was any solution to combat the problem. A spokesperson with the district relayed the following statement:
"Austin ISD wants to ensure that all children arrive and depart safely from school. We also want to be good neighbors to the families who live near our campuses.
Administrators from Gorzycki Middle School have spoken to the surrounding neighborhood homeowners' association regarding residents' concerns about traffic when families are dropping off and picking up their children.
Gorzycki administrators are working with families and their Student Resource Officer to encourage everyone to use the front parking lot to drop off and pick up children, and to avoid interfering with traffic on Slaughter Lane or any of the neighborhood streets."