Parking lot today, what should be tomorrow

Owen Aanestad ’22 explains the problems and solutions to the crowded and worn down West High parking lot

Parking lot today, what should be tomorrow

Owen Aanestad, WSS Intern

With over 1500 students attending West High, each student needs a source of transportation. May it be their parents, friends, siblings, bus or self drove each student makes their way to school, and back home in the afternoon. Along with this comes a place to park and here at West High there are many problems with the way we handle and use the space to park we call the West High parking lot.

According to the 2017-2018 school snapshot, West High had 1,594 students. Normally all classes have the opportunity to drive to school but younger freshman do not. Starting at fourteen and a half years freshman are able to get a school permit.This allows them to drive and park their car in one of two West High’s parking lots. Adding cars and loosing parking spots for other classes. This makes most of all classes have the ability to drive to school packing parking lots full 8 am to 4 pm. Not allowing freshman to get parking passes relives the parking lot pressure and decreases the first year driving mistakes.

The first problem with the West High parking lot is, the cluster of cars that race to be the first ones in line to get out. From the back parking lot which is substantially smaller than the front, students and their cars come together and make a line to the stop light at the very front of campus releasing students into the open road and out of the West High parking lot. The problem is this path is a one lane out meaning that students, parents and teachers trying to get off campus going different directions have to wait for each other to go the opposite direction.

Do you drive and park at school?

  • No (100%, 1 Votes)
  • Yes (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,000

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There is a easy and most definitely logical way to fix this. Multiple feet before the stoplight there should be three lanes that spread across into the what is now grass. These three lanes from left to right, would be a left turn lane, a straight lane and a right turn lane. This allows drivers to select and go which direction they want to go without waiting for people in front of them to go the opposite direction. Allowing students to get out of the parking lot and off campus more quickly will relieve the car congestion of the after school traffic.

Many students on the other hand park in the front parking lot which also has traffic pile up to get off campus. Unlike the back lot the front lot has two exits but still creates a struggle to get out. Just like the fix to the back lot this stop sign should have an added lane to avoid cars waiting for people going the opposite direction. Creating a right turn lane makes the flow of students getting out campus faster relieving the pressure of the line piling up in the front lot.

Like many notice between the front and back lot is the large front lawn space. In the times of no space to park many complain that the front lawn is a complete waste of space and should be converted to extra parking lots. Allowing parking to be more spread out a convenient place to get into the building and an updated parking lot protecting students when in the parking lot. Besides the design of the parking lot the physical features of over 50 years of wear and tear on the parking lot pavement show. As the construction projects add up the amount of large equipment and times cars and trucks drive through so do the parking lot problems. Many potholes, broken curbs and speed bumps show the lack of care put into the roads students, parents and teachers drive on everyday.

To park in the student parking lot there is a five dollar fee and a sticker you receive to show that you are legally parking in the parking lot. These parking passes are rarely enforced and result in students cars being parked illegally either in the facility lot beside the ninth grade center or without a parking pass. Parking in general can be a challenging thing for high school students especially ones learning to drive and park for the first time. The cost to park should be put into a fund to repair and maintain the parking lot, which gives the money you pay back to you in the quality of the parking lot you drive and walk on everyday. This factors into the specialties of the West High parking lot because of the interesting parking jobs, backing into other cars and driving into other cars. When you hit someone else’s car or you get hit way too often students drive away like it never happened. The problem is when this comes to administration the cameras don’t work or they struggle to find the person who damaged your car. This is one of the many frustrating parts that come with making the risk of bringing and parking your car in the West High parking lot.

All these problems could make West High’s parking lot a safer and better functioning and should be thought over as we continue to renovate the building and not the parking lot.