CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Parents at Lexington Middle School and Creekside Elementary School say traffic restrictions at Creekside Elementary have doubled morning drop-off times, forcing parents to leave 25 minutes early despite living two minutes from school.
"Traffic has just been a nightmare," said Crystal De Los Santos, a parent with children at both Lexington Middle School and Creekside Elementary.
The source of frustration centers around new traffic patterns on Yorktown near the elementary school, specifically restrictions that prevent drivers from turning right onto Oso Parkway during morning drop-off hours and afternoon pick-up.
De Los Santos said the first two days of the school year went smoothly, similar to last years traffic that, "flowed beautifully."
She said parents could get in and out quickly. However, parents discovered new "Do Not Enter" signs posted on Oso Parkway on Wednesday morning.
"We noticed on Wednesday there was a one-way on Oso [Parkway], and we were under the impression that it was going to be the normal flow of traffic as last year," De Los Santos explained.
The change forces parents to continue to the next road, Leadership Drive, creating bottlenecks at the intersection of Oso Parkway and Yorktown.
"Several cars would make it through before. Now everyone is congested there on Yorktown and everyone is just waiting for a turn to get through the light and get to the school," De Los Santos said.
Parent Valerie Garcia described the impact on her family's routine: "It's been pretty hard to get there on time. So now we're having to leave at about 7:20 when we're about two minutes away from the school, which is a little much."
District 5 Councilman Gil Hernandez said the traffic changes were the result of collaboration between city engineers, Corpus Christi Police Department, and the school district, with safety and logistics as the primary concerns.
"I think there were some issues because it wasn't communicated very well from the schools to the parents. We don't have the ability to communicate to them that way," Hernandez acknowledged.
Hernandez shared an email with KRIS6 News showing that Corpus Christi Independent School District was aware of the planned changes as early as August 2024.
However, Hernandez said the new traffic pattern is ultimately beneficial, citing a similar situation at Luther Jones Elementary.
"I get it might not be quite as easy because the elementary is right here, because you just want to go in there and come back out, but it's really better for the traffic pattern."
CCISD provided additional context about the timeline and communication around the change:
"CCISD has been in regular communication with the City of Corpus Christi since 2024 to provide input regarding the best possible traffic plan to serve our families and the community. We will continue in this collaborative effort.
While we had the understanding, as recently as the early morning hours of Aug. 11, that Creekside's established traffic plan would be able to continue, we learned the afternoon of Aug. 11 that this was not the case. As we shared with our families the evening of Aug. 11, we are complying with current requirements regarding Oso Parkway. We thank our families for their continued patience and support as we work to prioritize safety."
CCPD added that the decision was made collaboratively, stating:
"This was not a decision made solely by CCPD. It was a collaborative decision made with the safety of everyone in mind."
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