New Michigan Avenue Entrance Near Completion
The new Michigan Avenue entrance, which was constructed to be safer and more easily accessible during non-school hours, is near completion, according to H-House Principal Leslie Wells.Wells said that due to parents blocking traffic when dropping off their children on Pico Boulevard, the city of Santa Monica asked Samo not to use the Pico entrance. According to Wells, when Samo began the construction project for the Innovation Building, the school was given the opportunity to change the school’s main entrance to 7th Street and Michigan Avenue.“[The new entrance] gives us a space that’s lit at night,” Wells said. “It will have two rolling gates that extend back into the concrete structure itself, it'll have planters, the name of the school will be there and it’ll actually look like a real entrance, which we haven’t had for a long time.”According to Wells, the gate will also be able to open wide enough to allow for emergency vehicles to enter.“It sounds like [the new entrance] will be a lot better than it is now,” science teacher Kelly Vampola said. “The fact that you can get a fire truck or an ambulance in if there’s a problem is great. It sounds like it’ll be a much safer area.”Wells said that the new entrance will also have more space in front of the gate, so that students will have more room to get off of their bikes, pick up their skateboards or take out their student ID cards.“When you come into the Michigan gate during the last minutes before school starts, there’s always a swarm of kids, nudging each other, trying to get into school” Amy Moton ('16) said. “If [the new gate] is bigger, it’ll allow more space for students to enter, so there might be less of a mob.”The new entrance will also be closer to the new Innovation Building, which is also under construction, according to the building’s plans.“[The entrance] will be more convenient because it'll be closer to more buildings," Lucy Schwartzman ('16) said. " It will [also] be wider, which will be nice because it’s not like there will be three thousand kids going into one tiny gate.”According to Jennifer LaMori ('14), students are hoping the new entrance will add to the school’s overall appearance."I think [the new entrance] will be a great change [to the school]. Now that 7th and Michigan is the major entrance, it makes sense for it to be bigger and grander," LaMori said. "I already like the new pavement by the entry, and I think it will go well with the new building."osherman@thesamohi.com