As the new school year starts and the students enter the building, the school’s parking spots are filled once again. Seniors and juniors apply for a parking permit during the summer, and if approved, they are able to enjoy its benefits. The parking lot offers students easy access to the building, the ability to skip the carpool lines and the ability to stop riding the bus. The parking lot seems like a perfect scenario, but this is not the case. 

The first issue with the school parking lot is the horrendous wait time that students must endure as they arrive and depart from school. Consisting of only two lanes, the singular entrance to the parking lot provides access for two main flows of traffic from Wootton Parkway. With students and parents both having access to the parking lot, hundreds of cars arrive at the nearly the same time each school day. This causes a holdup as there are only so many places for cars to go when arriving at school or dropping off students. 

In addition, the way in which the parking lot is oriented blocks certain students’ spots, prompting them to wait in the parent induced traffic ,causing even more of a hold up. “I feel the parking lot situation at Wootton is a disaster. Each day I am forced to wait 10 minutes of extra traffic just to get to my spot. This is especially true for days with poor weather conditions as the traffic only increases, causing me to wait upwards of 30 minutes of traffic to get to school,” senior Parker Leibowitz said.

Not only does it take too long to access the school’s parking lot, but it can also be a catalyst for car crashes. With many of the student drivers being new behind the wheel, they lack the experience and awareness of seasoned drivers. This lack of experience has caused multiple issues in which one student hits another student’s car. “I feel like the system is very inefficient and I believe people need to be more careful, specifically when it comes to pulling into spots in the morning. My car got hit one morning and that is why I think drivers should be more cautious,” senior Peter Stanton-Shepard said.

Staff are just as concerned as students about the parking lot. As members of the school, staff must park here every day and the parking lot’s issues concern them as well. Staff members who supervise the parking lot each morning also believe that the parking situation can be improved. “I believe that the students’ driving can be greatly improved. They need to take their time and slow down so everyone is safe. In addition, one thing that we also could improve on is having more space for students to park. This will provide more safety for students, parents, and staff,” Security Team Leader Chris Pucciarelli said.

The parking lot allows students and parents a way to navigate themselves to the school. Unfortunately, it does have its drawbacks including student and faculty safety, extensive queue time, and the occasional fender bender.