Neighbors, parents frustrated as Vanderbilt Beach Road traffic piles up

NORTH NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) — A brand new school is already dealing with some growing pains, and parents are feeling it in the pickup line.

Mason Classical Academy opened its North Naples campus on Vanderbilt Beach Road this July, and the first two days of school brought long traffic backups that left some parents waiting for more than an hour.

One parent, Ryan, said Monday's pickup line was overwhelming.

"It was absolutely insane. It was backed up all the way around the way. It took me about an hour and a half to get through the whole thing, so it was not good," Ryan said.

On Tuesday, Ryan decided to skip the line entirely and walk to pick up his children.

"I decided just to walk across the street and come pick them up because I got to get my other daughter over to Oak Ridge. So yeah, I got to get on a time crunch for that," Ryan said.

The 108,000 square foot school does not have a bus system yet, which parents and neighbors say is adding to the traffic buildup.

Not everyone is frustrated though. Some parents say the delays are just part of the first week of school.

"I just know that it's part of the deal. There's nothing you can do about it," a Mason Classical Academy grandparent said.

Another parent said the school has a track record of fixing problems fast.

"Mason has always been a school that finds solutions to their problems pretty quickly. We've had these issues at the other campus a couple years ago and the first few weeks are always difficult but they always find solutions. They resolve matters quickly so we trust. I just trust the process," said the parent.

One parent shared an email the school sent out acknowledging the backup and promising big changes that parents will like.

Across the street, Gigi's Bakery said the extra traffic is good for business but they are also hoping for a fix soon.

"I'm a Naples native and so Vanderbilt wasn't like this. This is new to me, to everyone around here. I mean, it's wonderful that people are going to school, people are going back to school but the traffic is a little bit like scary," said Val Sanchez, a barista at Gigi's Bakery.

Mason Classical Academy told WINK News it had a major issue with its servers Tuesday that caused delays in the pickup line but said it is actively working on a solution.