New school. New traffic problems.

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) - A new elementary school that opened for students in the Steiner Ranch community is creating traffic troubles for a local neighborhood.

A meeting was held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the River Ridge Elementary School Cafeteria about the issue. Around 75 parents and area residents showed up to hear school officials and local law enforcement officers discuss some possible solutions.

"Tonight is really just an opportunity to open up the dialogue, generate some feedback and see what options might be available if any that would accommodate the needs of our community," said Veronica Sopher, spokeswoman for the Leander Independent School District.

Classes for the Leander school district started on Aug. 22, and initially parents were told to wait in a long line to pick up their students along Quinlan Park Road. But, that initially created a worry that would hinder emergency responders.

"At the end of the day we have a responsibility to ensure we're not impeding the safety of our campus, our students and the homeowners around us. And when are traffic is preventing homes south of the campus from having access to emergency vehicles, that's just something that had to be addressed," Sopher said.

The pickup line was moved to the neighborhood street, Tierra Grande Trail, earlier this week. And that's created concerns with residents in the neighborhood along that street.

“It's very scary to think about kids trying to cross this street," said Jerry Bauman. “We're all concerned about that. It's about kids and property right now.”

Tierra Grande Trail is a narrow street that ends in a cul de sac. It runs along the side of the school, and in the afternoon parents wait in long lines along that street to pick up their children.

“We don't like to sit in line anymore than they like us being here. Just trying to get the kids and get home,” said Kristen Coulter.

After school lets out, children can be seen darting across the road between cars. At least one resident said his car's rear view mirror was knocked off by a car trying to squeeze by others.

“This is a brand new problem. It's about three days old. They never informed us that this was going to happen, no input on it. They just wanted to throw this on us and let us deal with us. This is a strong, close neighborhood and we're not taking this lying down,” said area resident George Mitchell.

A few residents have used cones and their own vehicles to block their driveway so cars can't turn around on their property.

“It's very upsetting. You'd think they'd let us know that something this major was going to happen,” Mitchell said.

On Wednesday, officers with Travis County placed cones along the street, and were on motorcycles to help direct traffic. But, residents think more needs to be done.

“There are other alternatives that are sort of being pushed around here. This definitely isn't the best one. It's very, very dangerous,” Mitchell said.

School officials will take the feedback from the public, discuss possible solutions and make any necessary changes as soon as that can happen.