Just When You Thought Traffic Was Over…

I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to give up summer just yet. I have been to only a couple of Memorial Park summer concerts on Sunday evenings and just one Cal Phil concert at Santa Anita Race Track. This Saturday will find me in Burbank listening to the music of the Commodores at the last concert of the Starlight Bowl series while handing out copies of the Crescenta Valley Weekly. I can’t wait – it’s going to be great – but a part of me will be sad knowing that the summer is coming to a close.

And if there are any doubts that fall is just around the corner, they’ll be wiped away on Monday when the streets around town are heavy with back to school traffic.

That’s right, friends; public school is back in session on Monday, Aug. 11! A little early, don’t you think?

I know I’m showing my age, but I remember when school began the day after Labor Day. Typically we’d be spending the long weekend doing last minute clothes shopping or school supply shopping. But apparently testing schedules at the high school level, among other factors, have pushed up the date for students to head back to school.

And while parents may be happy to return to the schedule that school represents, most kids aren’t delighted that their summer is drawing to a close. (For a laugh, check out one of the funniest commercials made regarding back to school – the Staples commercial on YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcYbo7pjto.)

But whether you’re shepherding children to/from school or just a local commuter who is frustrated by all the cars on the road, please give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going from 7:15 to 8 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. on weekdays.

And let me answer a question that I know will be on the lips of many drivers: No, kids are not paying attention to where they are going. So it’s up to you to help keep them safe.

Happy traveling!

  robin goldsworthy