Look left, right and then left again: Signage placed within neighborhoods just south of Cullman City Primary School is giving residents their first glimpse of the increased traffic which will come to the area once the district’s second grade students transition away from East and West Elementary.

Signs warning drivers not to block the intersections along Meadowview Drive, 8th Avenue N.E. and 2nd Street S.E. began appearing early last week. Cullman City Police Captain Jeff Warnke said the signs are a part of the department’s attempt to prepare parents and nearby residents for the pick-up/drop off routine once the school’s second access point on Oak Drive is completed.

“We’re putting signage up telling drivers not to block the driveways and the mailboxes and stuff like that like. We’re also planning to line cars up on the sides of the street with the fewest residences,” Warnke said.

According to Warnke, the current traffic plan will have the soon-to-be completed roadway — which the department is referring to as “Primary School Road” — exclusively be used by the families of incoming second grade students. Once children are dropped off, parents are to exit in front of the school to Stadium Drive via Hoehn Drive.

Warnke said the department will also encourage parents not to line up along Oak Drive. Instead, they are asked to use  8th Avenue directly across from the future Primary School Road, and for the queue to congregate around Stiefelmeyer Park back toward U.S. 278.

The departments are expecting the usual amount of hiccups which go along with implementing a new traffic plan, but Warnke said officials are taking steps to address any future issues on the front end.

“We’re trying to get a little bit ahead of it, but there is always a learning curve with a new traffic plan. We expect there will be some complaints and some problems. But we’re trying to address everything we can ahead of time with the hope that people will kind of get into the flow of things and that everything will go smoothly,” Warnke said.

Officials with CCPS were not able to provide an exact date, but said second grade students are currently expected to begin attending the school sometime in October.