Wilsonville High School, like many other high schools, is facing significant parking problems. The parking lot is overcrowded, and students often struggle to find a parking spot. The most evident issues are the lack of regulation, not having assigned spots, and students parking in the fire lane.

Ask any upperclassmen what the biggest issue is with school parking, the likely answer will be sophomores stealing spots. “Sophomores taking spots is by far the biggest problem,” says junior Gabe Carlson. This creates problems for other students who have parking passes but can’t find a spot after coming to school late. 

The school wants to ensure that only students with parking passes can park in the designated parking lot. Such effort has been put forth with policies that prevent this behavior, threatening to tow vehicles wrongfully parked at the school. However, these regulations aren’t taken seriously by students due to the lack of action behind them. 

Without proper regulation, students are parking haphazardly, taking up more space than necessary, and parking in areas they shouldn’t. When the parking lot is full, no area is off-limits to students wishing for a spot. Students will frequently park along the fire lines, when specifically labeled not to, out of desperation. 

“Although I don’t like doing it, I do park illegally in many different areas, just because I have to,” comments an anonymous junior. This can of course create confusion, or disaster if a fire were to break out while cars were illegally parked along the lane. 

The school could also consider assigning parking spots to students, like in previous years. This will prevent the chaos that often occurs when students race for the best morning spot and after lunch. However, assigned placements may also stir up controversy as students assigned with worse spots may feel slighted, considering they would keep it for the entire year. 

The parking problems at Wilsonville High School are significant and require more attention from the school administration going forward. The problems of sophomores parking without a pass, the lack of regulation, not having assigned spots, and students parking on the fire lane should be addressed to ensure a safe and organized parking lot for all students.