Students, parents, and visitors returning to Guthrie High School this week will notice a dramatically different parking lot as a summer renovation project has officially been completed.
The newly reconstructed lot opened Monday morning with redesigned traffic patterns, wider parking spaces, and improved safety features aimed at making arrival and dismissal more efficient.
The biggest change is how vehicles enter and exit campus from Wentz Avenue. Drivers entering the high school must now use the southwest entrance, while all traffic leaving campus must exit using the northwest drive. The new traffic pattern remains in effect at all times.
Another major change is the three-lane traffic flow along the front of the high school, with all vehicles traveling northbound only.
The lane closest to the building is reserved exclusively for school buses. The middle lane is designated for student drop-off, pick-up, and visitors, while the outer lane provides access to the first row of parking and the north side of the parking lot.
In addition, every north-south parking aisle is now one-way, with motorists required to follow the directional arrows throughout the lot.
Parking has also been improved with all parking stalls widened to a uniform nine feet and angled to make parking easier for students and visitors.
School officials are also reminding parents from Guthrie Upper Elementary that many use the high school parking lot during drop-off and pick-up times. Anyone leaving the lot must now exit onto Wentz Avenue using only the northwest drive.
The improvements are part of a nearly $390,000 parking lot reconstruction project approved by the Guthrie Board of Education during a special meeting earlier this summer.
Board members accepted the low bid of $389,866.40 from Stryker Asphalt & Seal Coating. A second bid came in at $517,000, while six additional companies chose not to submit bids.
According to Superintendent Dr. Mike Simpson, improving safety was the driving force behind the redesign.
“We are looking at significant changes in the traffic flow to increase safety,” Simpson said.
He noted the previous entrance configuration created challenges for buses and passenger vehicles.
“The lanes are simply not wide enough for safe two-way turning, especially with buses,” Simpson said.
Beyond the new traffic flow, the project included milling the existing asphalt before applying a new surface, creating angled parking throughout the lot, establishing separate bus and passenger loading lanes, and relocating most handicap parking spaces away from the gym entrance to improve bus access.
The redesign reduced the number of parking spaces from 403 to approximately 332, but school officials believe the lot will continue to adequately serve students and staff.
“We believe this will still serve our students through the spring when we gain more young drivers,” Simpson said.
The project was completed by Stryker Asphalt & Seal Coating, which was already working on street improvements for the City of Guthrie, allowing construction to move efficiently from city projects to the school campus.
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