There are a limited number of parking spots offered to students. At the beginning of the school year, students get called down by grade and attendance percentage to reserve parking spots, but only if you have your license at that time.
People who don’t reserve a spot in time aren’t guaranteed that they will have a designated parking place. There are additional parallel parking spots along Jefferson, but those fill up fast.
“My birthday was at the end of the school year last year, and by the time I got my license there weren’t any spots left for me to park in,” Junior Julianne Huff said.
No one chooses when their birthday is, and if yours happens to fall later in the school year you may not be guaranteed a place to park.
“Every day, I had to walk from the public tennis courts to school, and it wasn’t safe crossing that road every morning. On top of that, the city gave me a notice for parking in a public park lot, but there wasn’t any other option,” Huff said.
Ultimately, there aren’t enough parking spaces and students shouldn’t have to deal with putting themselves in unsafe or inconvenient situations to get to school every morning. This adds stress and inconsistency when students already have a lot on their plate.
Another drawback is that, when high schoolers are trying to find other places to park, it affects the local businesses and parks around our school. If there are kids from the nearby high school in their parking lots they may not have enough space for their customers or staff, leading to complaints and tickets for students.
Finding a place to park their car in the morning should not be something students have to worry about before class. In order for everyone to have a safe and designated place to park in the morning, our school needs to have additional available parking zones further back in the lot.
By adding more parking options our students won’t have to find alternative places to park. Without more spots, students will continue to have to walk across busy streets, park in places not reserved for them, or find a different ride to school every morning, which can disrupt our lives and the lives of others.
