Pinecrest Academy Traffic Change Sends Gridlock Into Avalon Park Neighborhood for Hours

WESLEY CHAPEL / PASCO COUNTY, FL — Bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched for miles through the Hawthorne Village neighborhood on the first days of school this week, after a car-line route change at Pinecrest Academy sent drop-off and pickup traffic straight into residential streets instead of out onto County Road 54.

The backups hit Avalon Park Boulevard and River Glen Boulevard hardest, and for some residents, getting in or out of their own neighborhood became a multi-hour ordeal.

What Happened

Parents and residents say the gridlock traces back to a decision by Pinecrest Academy to redirect its car line into the Avalon Park neighborhood rather than County Road 54. New River Elementary, which shares the area, felt the ripple effects too.

Thursday, Aug. 13 — the first day of school — was the worst of it. Michael Cannizzo, a parent at New River Elementary, said the morning line ran from about 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The afternoon was worse, with double-lane traffic backed up through the neighborhood well past his townhouse.

Mary Bone, a parent at Pinecrest Academy, said she didn't get out of traffic until 7 p.m. that evening. "It's crazy. It's a lot to take in. It's a lot when you've got a 3-year-old and you're sitting in a car for 8 hours a day," she said.

Wesley Chapel resident Jennifer Huff described the scene in blunter terms: "Chaos, anger, frustration, gridlock. It was absolute madness."

A Safety Concern, Not Just an Inconvenience

Beyond the frustration, some residents said the backup created a real safety problem. Chris Olsen, a parent at New River Elementary, said both lanes of River Glen were blocked at one point, with no way for emergency vehicles to get through. His daughter, a 5th grader at New River, said her grandmother was stuck outside their neighborhood from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. because she couldn't get back in.

The Pasco Sheriff's Office logged 14 complaints from the area, and Pasco County said it received more than 100.

What the County Is Doing

Pasco County's Traffic Operations Manager said he wasn't consulted before the route change was made, but that the county is now aware of the problem and working to modify traffic signals on County Road 54 to help clear the backups. The county said it is "taking action to immediately rectify this situation."

A flyer posted to Pinecrest Academy's website confirms the school redirected traffic out of Hawthorne Village and onto County Road 54 — the opposite of what residents experienced on the ground, suggesting the plan and its execution didn't match up on day one. The Avalon Park developer said it has no direct role in fixing the issue but is aware the county and school are working on a solution.

Some Relief by Day Two

By Friday, Aug. 14, several parents reported improvement. "Today is actually much, much better. Yesterday was like pandemonium," said Kimberly Smith, a Pinecrest Academy parent. Cannizzo agreed the situation was easing day over day.

Not everyone is ready to write it off as first-week jitters, but some parents are giving the process room to work. "You have to give them a chance to kind of iron out all the bumps," Smith said.