Editor,

I am a longtime resident of Carmel. I reside in the townhomes bordering the Carmel High School parking lots. Between 4:15 and 4:45 p.m., this is a great misfortune.

Carmel has adequate bus service for students. The fact that students choose to drive to school is a privilege.

They should not receive preferential treatment for exiting the parking lots. The taxpaying citizens should not be disadvantaged so the high school students can quickly exit the lots. This floods 136th Street and results in the gridlock of traffic. No emergency vehicle could move on 136th Street from 4:15 to 4:40 p.m., especially westbound between Keystone Parkway and Range Line Road.

I am not certain if the people directing traffic are trained. It seems as if their only priority is emptying parking lots, not traffic flow. They let the students pour out of the lot and flood the street with little regard for traffic.

Another issue is the design of the traffic circle westbound at Range Line Road. It is obviously not able to handle this amount of traffic.

One option to improve traffic flow could be the limited release of student vehicles to ensure traffic flow. If it takes students longer to exit, perhaps fewer will drive, reducing emissions. It can help to save the planet!

Another option is to only permit vehicles to exit eastbound on 136th Street. Keystone Parkway can handle a larger influx of vehicles.than westbound 136th Street.

Mimi K. Frank, Carmel