In response to ongoing traffic concerns, Cumberland Academy has agreed to build another exit from its high school on Paluxy Drive.

Norma Cotton, the director of Cumberland Academy, told the Tyler City Council on Wednesday that the school would build a second exit and meet with stakeholders about it within 90 days.

Cotton spoke to the City Council after people who live near the school came to the meeting to complain that cars headed for the school turn around in their front yards and park in their driveways.

“I myself have a yard sign that promotes my church that I attend that was ran over and destroyed,” said Dustin Newland, who lives in Jeff Davis Drive. “I’ve been cussed. I’ve been flipped off. I had a guy park in my yard under my shade tree.”

Newland said he took a picture of the car that parked under his tree and contacted the Cumberland Academy High School principal, who told him to contact the Tyler Police Department.

“Tyler PD has come out to monitor it, but there’s not really anything they can do as far as the U-turns that are causing traffic problems because there’s not any ‘No U-turns’ signs up on the road,” Newland said.

This was the second time in less than a year that the City Council discussed the traffic issue with Cotton. Wednesday’s conversation started during an agenda item that required the City Council to approve of the school refinancing some of its debt.

In May, at the request of Councilman John Nix, the City Council delayed a vote on another refinancing issue until Cumberland Academy commissioned a new traffic study. In July, after receiving the new traffic study, the City Council approved that refinancing.

Cumberland Academy is required to get the City Council’s approval when it refinances loans because it is a charter school located within the city limits, even though the city government takes on no responsibil-

ity for financing or paying for the school’s debt.

“This has been the most difficult process that I’ve ever seen in working with a school trying to get — making sure that their populations are handled properly on the site,” Mayor Martin Heines said. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this before.”

Heines moderated a tense discussion between Nix, who lives in the neighborhood and represents the area, and Cotton. To resolve the conflict, Heines asked Cotton if she would agree to build a second exit, and she agreed.

Nix read a letter from constituents Jane and Ron Hightower describing how drivers go into their yard on Jeff Davis Drive, behind the mailbox and utility poles, in order to get to Paluxy Drive. They wrote that two people made U-turns in their driveway on Tuesday morning while they sat in the driveway.

“The neighbors have been asking for an opportunity to say something and the last couple of times it’s just been me up here, and I feel like last time we accepted a traffic study and city staff said it was acceptable,” Nix said.

“But then the school immediately closed off a whole half of that loop (on its campus) for construction, and I know we’ve repeatedly asked them to open that back up,” he said. He said the closure of the loop on campus would not have been a problem if the school had been designed with another entrance.

Nix said when Tyler Independent School District builds schools, the district designs drop-off and pick-up so that all the traffic can be handled on campus without impacting the neighborhood, and he would like to see the same happen with Cumberland Academy High School.

“Right now because of the construction there’s a big crane in the way so we can’t go around the building for a few weeks,” Cotton said.

Nix said the original plan was based on a faulty traffic study.

Cotton responded: “You can’t control traffic in and off of a high school campus. Look at Lee. We’re not the only school in that area,” she said. “There’s a private school, East Texas Christian Academy and the Whitehouse school, and even on days we’re not in school, the traffic out there is horrible.”

Heines said: “The request is that you have your pick-up and delivery on your site.”

Cotton said the school has sent out letters to parents telling them not to drive on others’ property.

Heines said: “Will you agree to build another exit?”

Cotton agreed. She said the school tried to build one in the first place.

Councilman Bob Westbrook questioned why the school had not held community meetings

“We’ve met with Mr. Nix before,” Cotton replied. “He lives on that road.”

Nix said they met with representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation, the city’s traffic engineer and the city’s street staff about the issue. He said having a second entrance would help solve the problem.

Cotton asked if the city would consider reprogramming the traffic light at the corner of Jeff Davis and Paluxy.

City Manager Ed Broussard told Cotton the light was just recently reprogrammed based on the Cumberland Academy’s recommendations in the traffic study submitted in the summer.

Cotton and Nix went back and forth over whether a second entrance should be on Paluxy, with Cotton saying it would cost a lot to acquire new land to build it far away from Paluxy.

Broussard suggested Cotton consider putting the new entrance east of the current entrance, near Oscar Burkett Road, because Smith County has been working to extend that road.

The discussion ended when Cotton agreed to a request from Heines to meet with stakeholders within 90 days so they could determine the best site for the new entrance.

The City Council voted to approve the refinancing, contingent on Cotton’s commitment to build a new entrance and hold a meeting within 90 days.

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