When the bell rings at 2:30 p.m., senior Elena Filbert races to her car in the student parking lot to get to dance class. She gets in the car but is immediately blocked by traffic, waiting with fervent impatience for the cars in front of her. The line grows longer and longer, and unless she gets aggressive, there is no quick way out of the lot. Filbert’s dance class starts at three p.m. and she’s often late due to the extended time it takes to leave the parking lot, upsetting her coach and creating friction between her and her team. Frequent issues with the lot have made students wonder if anything can be done to improve the situation.
The parking lot’s design affects its efficiency. The lot is arranged in rows that lead to a single lane that every driver takes to leave the school. Depending on where a driver’s spot is, they may not be able to find an opening in their row while more cars pile up behind those blocking the driver. Junior Paige Euler also parks in the lot. “People cut you off all the time and you have to wait so long to get out of your spot,” Euler said.
Urgency can lead to dangerous practices if proper precautions aren’t taken. The need to get out of school quickly often causes drivers to make irresponsible decisions while driving. In an area with so many students walking, this is especially dangerous. Students think this risk would be minimized with a more efficient system. Junior Naomi Negussie doesn’t have a parking spot but still drives home. “The design of the parking lot causes students to act irrationally, quickly leaving the lot and causing accidents. Students with after-school activities and other responsibilities break rules by driving across the lot and oppositely in the one-way lanes to get out faster,” Negussie said.
Other students share Negussie’s views. “High-risk driving is pretty common,” Filbert said.
The security guards attempt to direct traffic to make the process more streamlined and organized. “I think security is important for directing traffic. They help students and parents who have a difficult time maneuvering the lot to exit it as safely and quickly as possible,” Negussie said.
There may not be a way to fix the efficiency issues of the parking lot. Because of the resources it would take to change it, it’s likely that the lot will remain as is. “It’s an older school so everything’s kind of set the way it is. I wish the bus loop was a little bit bigger,” security guard Ray Blankenship said.
No matter how late a student may be, Blankenship thinks safety should be prioritized over timeliness. “Life is very precious. You should just take extra time to look and slow down in places with lots of young people. It could change at a moment’s notice,” Blankenship said.
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