To lessen the after-school traffic and create a safer campus, Franconia Township and the Souderton School District came to an agreement to open the Halteman gate in the afternoons.
The Halteman gate, located in the back parking lot of Souderton Area High School, has not been regularly in use for as long as it has been there.
Since the building was finished in 2009, the Halteman gate has been kept closed, being used only for “large crowd events” and “emergencies”, according to principal Sam Varano. “It would not be a regular exit and entrance,” Varano said.
After another, more recent agreement between Franconia Township and Souderton’s School District, the gate is now open for afternoon use as well as morning use. “It has been open in the morning for arrival,” Varano said, “but not in the afternoon, except for emergencies.”
According to security officer Elijah White, whoever on the security staff gets to the building first opens the gate.
“It gets opened in the morning at 6:30 a.m.” White said. “We close the gate at 8:15 a.m. every morning,” White said, “but now we open it from 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. every day too.”
High school security staff is responsible for opening and closing the gate in the mornings and afternoons. “We staff it [the gate] with security or police every day,” Varano said.
Using the gate as an exit in the afternoon allows for a smoother dismissal after school. “The opening of the gate in the afternoon for dismissal for people in the Halteman lot has an enormous positive impact on the safety of this campus after school,” Varano said, “and an enormous positive impact on decreasing traffic congestion at the end of the day.”
The afternoon traffic to get off the campus plays a role in the decision to use the Halteman gate for dismissal. “We do not want anybody to get hurt trying to hurry home,” White said. “Having the back gate open, people do not have to rush now.”
According to senior Jacob Allen, being able to leave through the Halteman gate “makes it way easier” for his drive home. “I can walk normally to my car,” Allen said, “and I do not have to worry about people zooming down the parking lot.”
For Allen, being able to use the gate means that he no longer has to “worry about beating the buses” anymore.
As stated by wellness teacher Christine Nenstiel, being able to leave through the Halteman gate has been “a game changer”. “I live seven minutes away and [leaving through the front] can take 25 to 30 minutes to get home,” Nenstiel said.
The safety concerns following leaving the Halteman gate closed have been another factor in the decision to use it for afternoon dismissal. According to Varano, “safety and decreased congestion” have had “huge positive benefits” as it is being used regularly.
Lessening the afternoon traffic will also have benefits for people’s moods. According to White, people are going to “be happier” following the gate’s afternoon use.
