JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are two types of parents at Alimacani Elementary.
The kind who get there early enough to get a spot on campus to wait in the carline, and those who are stuck in the turn lane on San Pablo Road, backed all the way up to Atlantic Boulevard and beyond.
All of these parents have something in common: they’re hoping the end of construction on the road widening project will bring some relief.
“I leave at about 1:25 or so so I can get here to beat all this traffic to get off the street," said Lorenzo Sessoms, whose great-grandchildren attend Alimacani Elementary.
Sessoms leaves his house an hour and a half before Alimacani Elementary dismisses just so he can get one of the coveted spots in the carline when it opens at 2 p.m.
Otherwise, he’d spend more than an hour sitting on San Pablo Road with all the other parents.
“Once you get through the gate, you’ve got another hour to get the kid," said Sessoms. "You do what you have to do. I’m not having to punch a clock or anything.”
Sessoms is surprised he’s still passing excavators and traffic barrels on his way to the drop-off line.
“I thought this would’ve been done and over long ago," said Sessoms.
A JTA spokesperson says the project to make the two-lane San Pablo Road into three lanes, which started in the summer of 2022, is on track to be done in November.
JTA was able to open the sidewalk on the east side of the road, added a crossing guard between the two schools, and plans to add a flashing beacon at two crosswalks before work is done.
Several Alimacani Elementary parents and grandparents were relieved to see the northbound turn lane open again this year, to get them out of the way while they wait.
“It was very difficult last year," said Randy Belohlavek, whose grandchildren attend Alimacani Elementary. "It’s gotten a little better this year.”
Belohlavek is hoping the end of construction and the additional turn lanes will help, but with three schools right next to each other, he’s skeptical it’ll ever be smooth.
“Two schools right across the street letting out and coming in at the same time," said Belohlavek. "It just doesn’t work.”
When the San Pablo Road widening project was designed, River City Science Academy wasn’t even there.
JTA crews are working on another turn lane into the school beyond what was planned to hopefully break up traffic even more.