* This article is composed of data from the feedback from 72 responses to a survey sent to 100 students at Weddington high school on 2.18.26 regarding the traffic and arrival times for students each morning.
Students are not getting to school on time at Weddington High School in 2026 because the traffic is horribly congested. Students are leaving their houses 40 minutes to 1 hour before the first bell, and the majority are arriving either right on time or 5 minutes late when they are just 10 minutes down the road!
While school starts at 8:15 am, the 8:00 am arrival expectation is unrealistic given the severe traffic congestion extending all the way to Wesley Chapel Chick-fil-A.
After asking 50 students from Weddington how they get to school and what time they arrive, Weddington Witness has been able to get a pretty decent range of the reasons kids aren’t getting to school on time.
Is it because of poor time management or poor traffic directing?
Some of the main words used to describe the traffic congestion is “chaotic” or “ stressful” such as these comments left by some of the respondents.
According to a Weddington Witness survey, around 51% of the respondents were bus riders and 19% of them report being about 5 minutes late to school. Some even going as far as being 10-15 minutes late at least once a week.
“I think that the morning traffic is a little chaotic because of the amount of buses in a single area, trying to drop people to school”, one student responded.
“The traffic is really unpredictable every morning. Sometimes I get here really early, and sometimes I’m a lot later.”, said another bus riding student.
Around 33% of respondents were student drivers who report being anywhere from 10 minutes early to 5 minutes late on average leaving their houses at 7:20. So, we can see from this data that it’s just a matter of how far away they are from the school.
Drop off students have reported that the carpool circle is too crowded and even a little dangerous.
Another student added, “It’s chaotic with so many cars in one area, and it can feel unsafe with people rushing. I wish there was better traffic management during the morning rush. I have to leave my house 15 minutes earlier than necessary just to sit in the school-zone traffic line. It’s frustrating to start the day stressed, but it’s the only way to make it before the final bell.”
