Ticket Trouble

As the school year progresses, the school parking lot is quickly becoming a frustration for both students and staff. As more students continue to park in the teachers’ lot, it brings issues for everyone, including 25$ fines. This year, the school has created a new parking policy, designating specific areas for different grade levels and staff. Hall monitor, Jessica Schmit, explained, “This change was made in the hopes that students who have the privilege of driving to school, could utilize more spots and not have to worry about parking illegally, missing class time looking for spots, and just out of overall safety.” Although this change was made to help students find spots, some students argue that it hasn’t made a difference. 

One senior, who faced a ticket for parking in the teacher’s lot, explained, “I only parked here because there weren’t enough parking spaces. The sophomores and freshmen from Prairieview took up the junior spots, so I had to park in the teachers’ lot. That was the choice I had to make to get to class on time.”  The real problem isn’t just enforcing the new rules, but also the growing number of cars on campus. More students are getting their driver’s licenses, which means more cars and insufficient parking spaces. This causes a rush to find spots, with some students coming much earlier to get a space, while others get annoyed and park where they shouldn’t. 

The struggle to find parking has found its way to teachers as well, with Mrs. Sweeney sharing, “Last year when I was pregnant and had appointments before school, I would get here some mornings around 8:20/8:30, and it would be difficult to find a spot to park. There are more spaces than staff in the staff lot, so I knew it was students parking there!” In short, the parking problem at school is getting worse. More students are driving, and we need to find good solutions fast. But are ticket fines helping, or making the issues worse?

Graphic by Payton Burkhead using Canva