CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Homeowners and parents have expressed concerns over a proposal to rezone 35-acres land across from Ardrey Kell High School to build a new elementary school and apartment complex.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Woodfield Development partnered up on the proposal, which will include 430 apartments, with at least 43 units designated for affordable housing.
Drivers waiting in the dismissal line outside Ardrey Kell High School fear the two-lane Ardrey Kell Road won't be able to handle all the new cars.
Alani Shepard said traffic's especially bad during the school's morning drop-off.
"It takes 45 minutes to an hour to drop my brother off, and he has to get here at 7 [a.m.] so I have to be up by 5 o'clock to be in the car by 6 [a.m.]," Shepard said. "I don't know. I wouldn't be a big fan."
Besides concerns about more traffic, Shannon Royster questioned whether developers considered many of those drivers to be inexperienced teenage drivers.
"I just feel like logistically it's going to be a big mess," Royster said. "Do more research on all of this."
In a public meeting earlier this month, developers said they're aware of people's concerns, and they're conducting a traffic impact study that they hoped to complete in the next month.
They expected a new traffic light at Ardrey Kell Road and Beau Riley Road will be part of their recommendations.
A meeting was held Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the development site. For more information on the rezoning proposal, click here.
Contact Brandon Golder at bgoldner@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.