What’s up with parking this year?

Students are having to wait over 30 minutes just to get out of the parking lot!

Parents+anxiously+waiting+to+pick+up+their+children+from+school.

Sydnie Bierma

Parents anxiously waiting to pick up their children from school.

With the new addition of the theater, additional parking, and softball field improvements parking has been a mess this year. It’s taking students anywhere from 15-40 minutes to get out of the parking lot after school. This is because the entire parking lot is leaving at 3 compared to when the lot was half staff and the teachers left later in the day.

Student spots are spread out all over the parking lot and go as far back as the tennis courts all the way to the previous staff parking out front. Not only were spots difficult to get this year with the increase in student population, but many kids aren’t happy with the spots they got in general. Many juniors didn’t get spots at all. 

To go along with this frustration is traffic, as mentioned previously. The first day specifically was bad. Senior Anna Burkhead, didn’t arrive home after school until a brutal 45 minutes later on her first day. Feeling passionate about the subject she spoke, “If someone’s car is in my way I have no problem with going Carrie Underwood on them swinging a crowbar.” The issue she finds is students and parents are pulling out in front of her and just stopping. 

This is especially true in the old staff parking lot. Leah Boger and many others have spots here. The issue in this specific section is confused parents continuing to pull through the lot to get their kids at pickup and dropoff. Parents will sit at a stand still, waiting for their freshman to come out while students wait patiently for them to move out of their way so they can back out. After finally backing out these students have to merge into the flow of traffic with other students and parents as well.                                               

Another senior, Grace Gatto said, “It should be high school kids that don’t know how to drive, not the parents.” As of now students remain infuriated with the situation and can’t wait for a change.  

Thankfully the parking lot alongside with the new auditorium will be completed relatively soon, relieving the current traffic issues.