By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

Some parents and neighbors of Joplin’s new South Middle School are concerned about what they see as the potential for traffic problems along 50th Street after the school opens in January.

“Living out here for 12 years, I’ve seen many cars in the ditches on 50th Street when the roads are slick,” said Jay Marlay, 4614 S. Indiana Ave. “I don’t want to be the one who comes up on a school bus that’s in the ditch.”

Marlay and his wife, Tami, have two children who attend Joplin schools.

“We love the schools,” Tami Marlay said.

Jay Marlay said their concerns deal with the roads leading to the new school.

“You drive down 50th Street, and there’s no center line,” Jay Marlay said. “With the traffic on 50th Street, I feel like I will not be able to make a left-hand turn from Indiana because of the additional traffic coming down the hill.”

Joplin school Superintendent C.J. Huff said the district already has opened a similarly situated building, the new East Middle School, and that traffic problems have been minor. The building opened Aug. 19.

“East Middle School is on line, and it’s a two-lane road,” he said. “We’re not having any issues there, and traffic flows pretty nicely.”

Roundabout

Huff said he believes a roundabout that will serve South Middle School will help improve traffic flow on 50th Street.

“Traffic is going to change when that school opens,” he said. “When you lower speeds from 45 to 20 miles per hour, that’s a significant change in and of itself. Now throw in the roundabout, and it’s no longer a straight shot.”

But Molly Hamilton, 69 Horseshoe Drive, who lives across the street from the roundabout in front of the school, said she also is concerned about the possibility of accidents. She said she thinks the roundabout might be too narrow for buses.

“I’m not an engineer, so I can’t speak to it from that point of view, but I have taken my Suburban and gone around the circle, and it’s tight,” she said. “It’s doable, but it’s tight. I cannot imagine a bus coming around in there.”