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State, Local Officials Tackle Traffic Woes At Jim Allen Elementary School
January 20, 2026
Local and state officials recently held a meeting to discuss how to improve the arrival and dismissal time traffic delays at Jim Allen Elementary School in Cantonment.
State Rep. Michelle Salzman, Escambia County School Superintendent Keith Leonard, District 5 School Board Member Tom Harrell and key school district staff met with the Florida Department of Transportation to begin discussing potential solutions. The meeting came about following citizen concerns during a District 5 Q & A Session in Molino on January 6.
“The discussion centered on traffic management challenges affecting school bus safety, student drop-off and pick-up times, and the broader impact on daily commuters in the north end of the district,” Salzman said.
“We want to do those things that we can do to make it safer,” Harrell said. “We are laser-focused on it and ways to improve, but there are so many variables there. It’s to the point we need extra extra assistance; we want to make sure that we have done all the things that we can.”
The school board member said Jim Allen is “landlocked” all the way around with no room to grow or expand in order to get cars off of Highway 95A. There is an apartment complex to the south of the school, and wetlands and a cemetery to the north. In front of the school on Highway 95A, there is limited or no right of way for turn lanes due to railroad tracks.
Harrell said an FDOT traffic study could determine options, such as perhaps encouraging drivers to use Neal Road with a traffic light at Neal Road and Highway 29. But a final plan would come from FDOT.
“I do believe FDOT will assist us with doing studies in that thoroughfare in front of the school and do what we can to assist them to help us to help the students and families,” Leonard said.
“As a result of the meeting, a clear plan of action was established,” Salzman said. “The Florida Department of Transportation will work with the school district to conduct targeted traffic studies to identify immediate and long-term solutions. One of the primary objectives moving forward is the installation of at least one additional traffic light along Highway 29 while aimed at improving safety during school hours.”
“The proposed improvements are intended to enhance traffic flow and driving safety for the entire community on a daily basis,” Salzman added.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
17 Responses to “State, Local Officials Tackle Traffic Woes At Jim Allen Elementary School”
Hey heres an idea. Let’s build 2 sub divisions 2 miles up the road from the school. That should help the situation. Lol
Amen to Tinpan. Let the children ride the buses. My kids attended the school in the 80s. Never was a problem then because kids rode the buses. Geez, I even see parents parked in my neighborhood to meet the bus so they can drive their kids a block and a half home. Alternatively, just pave as much turn lane as they can on both sides of 95A and ticket everyone who blocks thru-traffic.
Ticket those parking in the hwy for beginners. Thats ridiculous,
@ derek ,,Tell that to the ones that show up in line at 11:00 /12:00 Am and sit in the car for 3 hours, school does not let out till 2:00Pm,,,its all most like you have to put chain link fence up to keep them out.
Alternate dismissal times based on grade levels, siblings will be dismissed together, no cars allowed to line up until 10 minutes before dismissal time. Wallace Lake K-8 does this and it works great.
Let’s discuss the several 100 homes being built and no upgrades to the infrastructure.
Tony, of course in fairness cars passing stopped school buses is a different subject. No one is excused from passing the stopped buses just as the buses are not excused from running the stop sign. Both are dangers to the kids.
Well thats a great idea.
Another red light along 29 to help with people parked on the road on 95A.
Brilliant
How about start ticketing those illegally blocking the highway.
If mommy and daddy didn’t think their kids are too special for the bus, there would be no problem.
I’ve seen emergency vehicles have to get off the road to get around this traffic lineup ,,think the front of the school needs to be utilized.
Not the best solution or one without other issues. End drop off/pick up at the school. find a spot near the school and let the children get on a bus, to carry them to and from the school. Still allow drop off before the “busy” time for the parents who need to get to work. Yes, more what if’s, but this could be easier to work out than the other options available.
How about you make the school buses safe enough for the kids to feel comfortable to ride.If that includes adding another person on the bus to help monitor the bus , then do that. The traffic in the mornings and the traffic in the afternoons is absolutely ridiculous and with new subdivisions going in out there. It’s only going to get worse, so do something about your bus problem, and then you won’t have to worry so much about the traffic problem.
@Scott or how about when passenger cars are passing stop school buses that kids are getting on and off of because they really don’t care if they hit some kid.
As someone who has gone to this school, raised kids who went to this school, and a local resident who drives through this nonsense every single day, I am wondering why the lot to the south of the building cannot be used to either shuttle buses or reroute drop off/pick up lines. There’s nothing there….just grass…so run them a lane of asphalt or something. (No, I haven’t been back there in a while but I don’t see anything from the road so if anything new has gone up since then please inform me).
If they ran the buses that way, the parents could use the front half-circle. If they don’t want to send the buses back there, then switch up the lanes for car riders and make the entrance in front of the trailer heading towards the back grass with the exit being the current entrance. If overflow happened in the line, they could park in the grassy lot (where everyone parks for events/plays anyway) until the line moves. That would keep them from lining up in the middle of the road.
I can appreciate Jim Allen Elementary having this issue. It was built in 1956. 95%, if not more, of kids rode the bus with only a handful dropped off. By the turn of this century nearly half were being dropped off and now it’s around 65-70%.
What I don’t understand is every K-12 school that has been designed and built in the last 20 years doesn’t take this into account. If you have 500 kids at a school and 300 of them are expected to be dropped off and picked up, the school design needs to include an off street queue area for 250-300 cars to line up.
Let the children ride the buses. The pickup lines are out of control at every school. It’s the parents fault,why do so many have to take and pickup the children?
First of all the school buses need to start stopping at the stop sign when exiting the school onto 95a. Yes we do space far enough for the buses to exit, but this does not mean the buses do not have to stop and look for traffic. Secondly, Many times I’ve seen passenger cars passing the waiting cars just to see the buses run the stop sign and nearly crash into cars that are passing the stopped cars waiting for pickup. Even though it’s double solid in front of the school. Cars still get in opposite lane to pass us so they can get past the traffic backup just to be met by a school bus running the stop sign from school. Yes, it’s a big problem. As far the children’s safety, the school does an excellent job loading the children into our vehicles and keeping our babies far from buses or 95a traffic. If anyone wants to take the time, go at dismissal time, park somewhere and observe this happening at 95a. It’s needs to be fixed before a crash does happen with a car and a bus full of children. I feel it’s not if but when. I’m very concerned. Thank you NE for having this article and please continue to follow this issue.