A decision by Pinecrest Academy in Wesley Chapel to reroute its car-line traffic into a residential neighborhood on the first day of school triggered miles-long gridlock that trapped some residents for up to six hours and generated more than 100 complaints to Pasco County.

The K-8 charter school, which enrolls 1,312 students, redirected its drop-off and pickup traffic into the Avalon Park neighborhood on Aug. 13 instead of routing it onto County Road 54, according to Tampa Bay 28. Bumper-to-bumper lines stretched through the Hawthorne Village neighborhood and along Avalon Park Boulevard and River Glen Boulevard.

Residents describe hours trapped in gridlock

"This is basically we are in jail," Wesley Chapel resident Jennifer Huff said. "For 6 hours, you cannot get into the neighborhood."

The morning backup ran from roughly 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., according to New River Elementary parent Michael Cannizzo. The afternoon was worse. Both lanes of River Glen Boulevard were blocked with no northbound through traffic, raising concerns that emergency vehicles could not pass, parent Chris Olsen said.

Pinecrest Academy parent Mary Bone said she sat in traffic until 7 p.m. Thursday for a pickup, spending about eight hours in her car with a 3-year-old.

The Pasco Sheriff's Office received 14 complaint calls from the area. Pasco County logged more than 100 total.

County says it wasn't consulted before the reroute

Pasco County's traffic operations manager said in an email that he was not consulted about the route change before it was implemented. The county said it is now modifying traffic signals on County Road 54 to reduce backups, a change that will also affect Land O' Lakes commuters who share the SR-54 corridor. The county said it is taking immediate action to fix the situation.

Traffic eased by the second day of school

By Aug. 14, the second day of school, parents reported noticeable improvement. Cannizzo said conditions improved markedly between the first and second days. The county has not announced a timeline for completing the signal modifications on CR-54.

A flyer on Pinecrest Academy's website now indicates the school is redirecting traffic back onto County Road 54 and out of the Hawthorne Village neighborhood.