Ironically, the walkway, which was designed to alleviate overcrowding and reduce hallway traffic, may cause collateral damage in the form of parking availability. A host of vehicles used in the walkway’s construction are currently stationed in an adjacent parking lot and, as a result, a portion of student and faculty parking has been commandeered in the name of progress.

However, according to Lizz Gagnon, Clifton Board of Education commissioner, the majority of people effected by the parking issue are faculty members who willingly agreed to temporarily relocate their parking spaces until the walkway’s completion.

"It’s basically some staff members," Gagnon explained. "They’ve always been there for our children and for the long term. [Faculty] have been inconvenienced by the [hallway overcrowding] too so they understand the long-short of it. We did relocate the parking spots for them so we can deal with that right now and we’ll have our parking back again."

Though Gagnon said some parking has been lost because the contractors are "storing vehicles" there, she explained the school can "easily have trucks in and out for deliveries" and student drop-off should not be a problem in the meantime.

The implementation of the new walkway, should lessen the crowding occurring in the high school’s hallways, which have increasingly resembled a "mosh pit" generated by the state’s largest single-campus high school population of over 3,400 students.

"We’re trying to eliminate the mosh pit," Gagnon said. "The kids tend to congregate in between the wings and it’s something we’ve needed for a long, long time. We tried to put another wing on or another school some place, but this is an alternative."

Though last month Gagnon decreed July hadn’t "been a good month for contractors," the Clifton commissioner is holding out hope the project can finish by its new Oct. 6 deadline.

"We had hoped to have it done before school so we’re keeping our fingers crossed," Gagnon said. "I do believe they’ll stay on schedule and I know they’re working diligently to finish on time. When I had a walkthrough recently I was very impressed and it looks beautiful."

Though Gagnon specifically stipulated that no one was to blame, the delay of the walkway’s construction began with paperwork issues on the side of contractors, which inevitably slowed City inspections and ultimately contributed toward the one-month postponement. The exterior of the walkway was completed before the high school’s first session on Wednesday, and students will be able to use stairwells, board members said.