By: Brooke Logan
As the return to school is finally taking place, things on campus are changing, including the bridge. As students and Redwood staff know, the bridge is always packed during passing periods and it gets pretty chaotic, but that’s different now due to social distancing restrictions.
The way the bridge used to flow was students were supposed to walk on the right side at all times, meaning right side going up, and right side going down. Now with the new social distancing protocols, students can walk up on any side because no one is allowed to go down the bridge. Students walking back to main campus are required to go under the bridge, cross the cross-walk, and walk across the turf.
Lili De Ochoa, ‘24 who has never used the bridge during a “normal” school year says that her “overall experience with the bridge has been alright,” and that she “didn’t think [she] would be so tired after going up the bridge, but [she] was.”
De Ochoa was expecting the bridge to be a “big, crowded place.” She says, “I only go over one time” making things more convenient and less of a hassle. The new bridge policy has been good for De Ochoa saying that the bridge right now is “working good, whenever I do cross it’s not crowded.”
Olivia Saenz, ‘23 says that walking on the bridge is “boring now, there is not very much energy. But it’s much easier to get over, but it’s definitely not the same.” Saenz talks about how she wouldn’t change the “new” bridge policy when coming back to school in the Fall, but as things go back to normal, “the bridge can go back to normal too.”
As a student, Saenz “feels safe” going over because “everyone’s not all bunched together.” While going under the bridge, students are a little closer together but “I still feel safe, I’m also glad that we can get to our classes faster,” she states.
Redwood Principal, Mr. Shin says the reason for the change was to create “one-way traffic flow patterns throughout our campus… to decrease the number of students who come in contact with each other.”
Change is difficult and so is the effort behind it. According to Shin, the Administration Team spent several weeks to come up with the plan that stands now.
The new bridge plan, “which isn’t perfect, but better than the old way,” says Shin, will stay until new guidelines or until further notice. Shin continues, “it has made it easier to get to and from Sierra Vista,” making things more convenient for students and also allowing them to get to classes faster. By “no longer seeing students going up or down on the wrong side” has made things easier for all, says Shin.
With students coming back to school with even more changes, it can get stressful at times. Difficulties include not knowing which doors you’re allowed to walk through anymore, or if you’re walking the wrong way. But the nice thing is that the bridge was a fairly simple transition.
Redwood Assistant Principal, Mr. Marroquin is also in charge of School Safety Plans. Marroquin says, “seeing 400- 500 kids crossing the bridge at one time” made it “uneasy” for him. Adding that trying to avoid the “face to face” contact was the biggest reason for the change.
Marroquin noticed that “kids are frustrated” with the bridge because it is inconvenient for most. They have to “come though the turf… walk around the academic building just to get to Science” which “breaks my heart,” he states.
Thinking about returning in the Fall, the bridge policy depends on “where were are as a state, a district, and my directives from above,” Marroquin says. Though an idea of how the bridge will flow is still up in the air, there are ideas in the making.
Some ideas include: releasing the bell earlier to get the flow of kids over faster coming from Vista, and still going through the turf. However, Marroquin hopes to be less restricted and “a little liberal” once students have reached main.
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