IRVINE
A plan to ease traffic congestion around University High School is one of the first projects that probably will be postponed or canceled in the wake of a tax ballot measure’s defeat this month, said trustees of the Irvine Unified School District.
Braced for severe budget cuts, district officials have advised board members to decline the city’s request to shoulder some of the costs of the $600,000 plan.
“With the recent loss of the district’s [$95] parcel tax election and the uncertainty it presents for district finances, the additional dedication of $200,000 to $250,000 is very difficult to support at this time,” district officials said in a staff report for a school board meeting tonight.
The project calls for new campus entrances, additional parking spaces in the school’s lot and detours of traffic around the school.
City officials started designing the plan in 1992, when Irvine’s growth and booming enrollment at University High led to the traffic increase at the school. Congestion at the site, which sits on one of the city’s busiest intersections at Campus and Culver drives, continues to threaten student safety, said Diana Schmelzer, the school’s principal.
The school board meeting begins at 7:30 at district headquarters, 5050 Barranca Parkway.
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