The days of congestion from parents dropping off and picking up students that creates traffic issues on Northgate Drive are numbered.

The Manteca Unified effort to modernize and address safety concerns at the 59 year-old campus includes a one-way “road” from Northgate Drive to Union Road with a drop-off zone near the big gym and stadium.

 It is part of the $260 million Measure A bond measure passed by voters in 2020.

Work will take place when the state’s share of matching funds for replacing aging portable classrooms with a new 2-story structure being built along Union Road is received by the school district. 

The matching fund will come from the statewide $10 billion school bond approved last November.

The work is expected to happen sometime in the next two to four years, according to MUSD Chief Business & Information Officer Victoria Brunn.

The issue of speeding — as well as before and after school congestion — on Northgate Drive was brought  up by a nearby resident at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

 He has been working with others that reside along the stretch of Northgate between the Tidewater Bikeway and Union Road to get the city to address speeding.

He noted Locust Avenue on Tuesday was given the greenlight by the council as the latest Manteca street to secure speed lumps. He asked what it would take to get them as well on Northgate Drive.

In responding, staff did not point out that speed lumps per se may not be a suitable traffic calming device for Northgate Drive.

The city has told others seeking speed lumps that arterials such as Moffat Boulevard are not acceptable candidates for speed lumps.

It wasn’t made clear Tuesday whether Northgate Drive is considered an arterial or a collector such as Trailwood Avenue that allows traffic on neighborhood streets to reach Northgate.

The four-lane portion of Northgate between Main Street and Union Road has currently has two traffic signals and a four-way stop. 

Unlike Manteca High that has high profile crosswalks adjacent to the campus with flashing beacons at two spots on Yosemite Avenue and two spots on Moffat Boulevard,  the crosswalk at Junewood has none.

Over the years students on foot — including in crosswalks — have been struck by the East Union High campus just as they have been near Manteca High.

Public Works Director Carl Brown indicated staff will explore other traffic calming strategies for Northgate as well as look at signage upgrades to get drivers to slow down and to enhance overall safety.

School district

safety upgrades

Improved drop-off zones were one of the needs the school district identified before Measure A was placed on the ballot.

A new drop-off zone with access tied into the traffic light at Sprague Street and Union Road has already been completed for the student parking lot on the northwest corner of the campus.

The work near the stadium will tie into the existing faculty parking lot.

It will create a similar traffic flow to the revamped drop off zone near the big gym that is accessed from Moffat Boulevard and connects to Sherman Avenue.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com