As the oldest school in RJUHSD, RHS grapples with everyday campus safety concerns, including matters pertaining to road safety and uneven terrain for pedestrians and runners. According to RHS principal David Byrd, the school’s 106-year-old landscape does not accommodate for the abundance of drivers around campus.

“This is an older facility. It was built in this place a hundred plus years ago and the way they built things today accounts more for more people driving,” Byrd said. “We don’t always benefit from that.”

Many heavily trafficked areas, like the dirt lot across the front entrance of the school, lack crosswalks. Youth resource officer Marc Kelley believes it would be beneficial for students to utilize the crosswalk on Tiger Way and Berry Street rather than crossing the street directly onto the dirt lot.

“I realize that students don’t always want to walk further than they have to, but it would be the best option safety wise,” Kelley said.

According to Byrd, the Union Pacific Railroad Co. owns the property of the dirt lot. As a result, a crosswalk may not be built.

“Crosswalks are great, but at the end of the day you still got to get across the street and you still got to look both ways,” Byrd said.

While the Berry Street lot does have a crosswalk leading to the campus, the road is heavily congested with students and vehicles. Senior Nate Burns believes the addition of a crossing guard or stop sign near Berry Street may alleviate traffic and prevent future accidents.

“The [Berry] lot is definitely over-crowded,” Burns said. “I even had trouble getting out of the parking lot because [students parking in handicap zones] blocked exits on both sides.”

According to Kelley, students parked in handicap zones have become a recurring issue in the Berry lot. Kelley hopes students will cease to park in those areas before he takes disciplinary action.

“I hope to solve it by calling people up [to the office],” Kelley said. “Unfortunately if people keep doing it then people the only way for people to change their habits is when they actually have to come out of pocket.”

Freshman Ivan Lira believes students commonly disregard road safety after school hours.

“Students don’t really care about the cars,” Lira said. “That’s not really safe but it’s just kind of how students act.”

Aside from traffic concerns, Lira believes uneven pavement across campus in specific areas continue to pose as a possible safety threat.

“I have two classes in the portables and I’m always tripping on the pavement,” Lira said.

Byrd believes students should not underestimate the risks of tripping around campus.

“Tripping hazards are a big deal and these are just things you want to be aware of,” Byrd said.

Freshman Michaela Khoury believes PE runs around the upper fields pose as a concern due to unattended terrain.

“[Running on the upper fields] is a safety concern,” Khoury said. “I have seen many people trip and fall. I think they should fix the upper fields where we run [because] the ground is uneven causing many people to trip.”

According to Byrd, administration works to address areas of concern but cannot ensure total protection.

“Nothing is preventable,” Byrd said. “There’s a reason they call it the high school on the hill…It’s hard to create a scenario where everything is preventable.”

According to Byrd, issues such as uneven pavement and grounds can be fixed if a renovation occurs within the vicinity of any faults. In addition, complications may arise in the process of renovating the campus.

Two weeks ago, senior Ryan Cones reported an instance of yellow water coming out of the 500 wing water fountains. Cones believes bathroom renovations on campus led to the discoloration.

“I don’t know what’s going on with this construction,” Cones said. “I don’t know if they’re messing with the pipes but it’s pretty disturbing.”

In response, Byrd, campus maintenance and the construction team worked together in order to address and resolve the issue.

“We were told when you’re renovating something you never know about these things, but that’s not going to deter us,” Byrd said. “We want to get a better facility and if something like that comes up they’ll get it fixed, they know how to reroute it and get it addressed right away.”