New Parking Lot Construction

Also see “Construction” for another student perspective

 In 2017, voters approved a $106.3 million project for the North Colonie School District. Shaker High School in my eyes is the school that was affected by this the most. From the new turf field, baseball fields, weight room, etc. But one of the newest and most effective improvements that was made is the new parking lot. The new parking lot includes a three lane road, two lanes coming into Shaker and one leaving. This was made to reduce the traffic coming into Shaker. Watervliet Shaker Road is such a busy road, because it not only has all of Shaker High School and Jr. High School students and staff, but everyone else who is going to work and using that road. In a recent interview I had with Mr. Murphy he explained to me the reasons as to why he made this change. First, he wanted to create an easier and quicker access to school in the morning and afternoon, he wanted to reduce the amount of traffic in the morning. From personal experience I think it has made a major impact. There’s also a road that splits off for student parking so there’s not a lot of traffic on the road into Shaker. I was also informed that soon they will be repaving the roads in Shaker, which will make it much better to drive on. In the future Mr. Murphy hopes to add a new parking lot to Shaker so every senior can have a parking spot and possibly juniors as well. He tried to do it this year but he was sadly turned down on that idea. I also interviewed my friend Delia she said it has made the early morning commute much easier and quicker, especially because she lives so far away. In my opinion the new road coming into Shaker was a great idea, and it has had a positive impact on the students and staff as well.