South Ward leader urges later construction starts near schools during state testing

During the public‑comment period, Christina Cherry, a South Ward district leader and resident, urged the council to enforce construction start times around schools during state testing week after construction crews closed a street early and delayed student drop‑off.

Cherry said construction crews closed Alexander Street on a testing morning despite a prior pledge to start after 9 a.m., forcing parents to take much longer routes and leaving some students late for exams. “We just failed the third and eighth grade practice test mandates… We now take 40 minutes for me to get to Clinton Avenue… because of the school traffic, the gridlock and the construction,” Cherry said.

Council members acknowledged the concern. The business administrator, Eric Pennington, noted that city rules prohibit starting construction in residential areas before 8 a.m. for street closures and suggested the engineering department could limit specific street-closure permits to 9 a.m. in special circumstances such as state testing.

Why it matters: Early-morning construction that blocks school access can disrupt testing, student routines and parents’ commute times; council members asked administration to work with vendors and engineering to avoid starting disruptive street closures during testing windows.

What’s next: Administration officials agreed to reach back out to contractors and consider a 9 a.m. restriction for street-closure permits when notified of testing; the transcript does not show a formal ordinance change in the excerpt.