School administrators and the Wilkes County sheriff agree that the intersection of Tignall Road and Highway 17 needs a traffic light to protect the 880 students who attend school there each day. Both school administrators and law enforcement officials say traffic at the new Washington-Wilkes school complex now open on Highway 17 north of Washington is improving day by day as students and parents learn how to negotiate the new location, but there are still concerns about traffic safety.

"It was a lot smoother Monday that it was on the first day," Wilkes County Sheriff Mark Moore said. "The outflow is being directed by school staff and that helped, plus more people are choosing to come in by way of the four-lane rather than trying to cross from Old Tignall Road."

"We're preaching safety and patience every day," said Mark Ward, W-WCHS assistant principal. "In the morning, we've been encouraging both parents and student drivers to come down Highway 17 from Danburg Road and make a right turn into the school, rather than try to cross Highway 17 from the Old Tignall Road. It may be a little longer, but it's much safer and easier."

With 410 students at Washington- Wilkes Middle School and 470 at the high school making their way into the new complex, there have been a few glitches. "A few parents have just stopped on the side of the highway and dropped off their kids to hike in," Ward said. "That's just not allowed because it's not safe at all."

Some parents have also tried to short-cut the rules by driving to the back of the school to drop their children off, instead of using the designated drop-off circle in front. "The back entrance is only for staff, teachers, and student drivers. Parents should not drive in the back at all."

The speed limit on campus is 10 miles per hour. "That seems slow until you realize we have 880 lives to protect," Ward said. He and other administrators are posted around the complex to keep traffic in the right designated areas.

One ongoing worry for both administrators and law enforcement is the fact that in the afternoon, parents picking up students and student drivers who need to go toward Washington must exit to the right, then make a U-turn and double back at the first cross-over. Due to the Georgia DOT rules, however, the vulnerable U-turn spot is outside of the school zone.

"That's a real point of concern on our part," Ward said. "Unfortunately the DOT didn't pay attention to that detail."

"We met with GDOT officials several times," Sheriff Moore said. "But the DOT didn't agree with our recommendations to include that turn-around in the school zone. The problem is that traffic coming from the Tignall direction tends to speed up right there where the road widens into four lanes, but that's right where kids are pulling into the highway. That's why we've been having a patrol unit with blue lights flashing there and at the crossing to slow traffic down."

"The Sheriff's Office has been great about putting both their onduty deputies out there," Ward said, "but we know they can't be there forever - they've got the whole county to patrol."

The school zone is marked by two sets of bright yellow signs on each end, and flashing caution lights on each end of the school zone. "That has helped slow the traffic down," Sheriff Moore said. "But in my personal opinion, we'd be better off with a red light at the Old Tignall Road crossing so our school buses could cross more safely. That seems to have the most potential for an accident, but the GDOT didn't agree."