LAGUNA HILLS : 2 Loading Zones OKd at Laguna Hills High

Hoping to alleviate congestion at the entrance to Laguna Hills High School, the City Council has approved making two passenger loading zones on Paseo de Valencia.

Mayor Joel T. Lautenschleger and Councilmen R. Craig Scott and Randal J. Bressette voted in favor of the zones, saying the city has an obligation to improve traffic flow around the school.

Drivers heading north on Paseo de Valencia will be able to drop off students at the southeast corner of Paseo de Valencia and Stockport Street, where there is now a bus stop which will be moved just north of the intersection.

Southbound drivers will be able to use a loading zone just south of the school’s main entrance. The council had already approved putting in a new traffic signal at the high school entrance.

Councilwomen Melody Carruth and Cindy Greengold cited safety concerns, including a possible rise in jaywalking, as their reasons for voting against the passenger loading zones.

“These kids are in a hurry and their parents are in a hurry,” said Carruth. “The kids are carrying heavy backpacks. I don’t know if they’ll wait for the signal.”

Bressette said he trusts that teen-agers are patient.

“I don’t think we’ll have kids jaywalking across a four-lane highway when they’re 30 feet from the light,” he said.

The city expects to have the loading zones in place in about a month.