The new student drop-off zone on the north side of the Cerritos College campus was completed and put into use starting Nov. 3.

Traffic controllers directed vehicles into the new one-way strip that was built to offer better safety and reduce traffic congestion.

Aya Abelon is the Coordinator of Media Relations for the Office of Public Affairs, a building that is at the corner of the sidewalk passage that links parking lots C-3 and C-2.

“Before, there was no designated drop-off area, so everything was in this parking lot (C-2 and C-3), but now we have a designated drop off,” Abelon said.

Parking lot C-3 is in front of the Burnight Theater, and C-2 is the big parking lot partially inaccessible due to the gym reconstruction.  

“Campus Police are informing students and staff very well; I think it’s going very well,” Abelon said.

Richard Bukowiecki, chief of campus police, said that although it has only been a number of days, the new drop-off zone “seems to be going fantastic.”

“It’s going as well as we expected it would be doing. This project has been a long time coming; [it] was a response to problems that we had with student drop off and pick up in some of our really small lots on the front of campus, like C-3 and C-4, which are strictly staff lots.

“But they weren’t designed for drop off. In order to drop people off, you had to stop in the middle of an aisle way, block traffic and block the cars that are parked in there. We’re really happy to have it up and running,” Bukowiecki said.

Reception to the new drop-off zone was mixed among students.

Priscilla Garcia, child development major, said she has to wake up earlier to get to Cerritos on time.

“It takes me about 20 minutes to get here because of this drop-off area,” Garcia said.

Computer science major Israel Cruz said that he thought that it was better before, because the drivers didn’t have to go around the parking lot to exit.

However, there were also students who saw value in the new drop off zone.

Leslie Herrera, undecided major, said “I think it’s convenient because I get dropped off all the time.”

Herrera said that the new drop-off zone makes it a lot easier on those dropping her off.

Bukowiecki said that currently they are doing a campaign of education, showing drivers that they can no longer use the original, undesignated drop-off zone in parking lot C-4.