Parking is a prevalent and ongoing issue at WCHS. Every day as 7:45 approaches, cars arrive at WCHS in hopes of finding a parking spot. Currently, WCHS allots one of its parking lots to seniors, with each of the spots assigned to a specific senior, and also allows seniors to park along the neighboring streets, assuming they have the necessary parking permits. As simple as it may seem, this system has not always proved to be effective and a variety of issues have prompted WCHS to completely rethink how they will organize parking next year.
On Friday, May 10, WCHS made this change official when they sent an email to incoming seniors describing how the parking procedure would work next year. As stated in the email, all parking for the upcoming school year is going to be completely first come-first served. There will be no assigned spots in any lots and, as long as someone has a parking permit, they will be allowed to park at any spot in the designated parking lot or surrounding streets. Opinions on this new change vary among students.
“I am not looking forward to the change,” WCHS junior Sydney Barrett said. “I think that there is just going to be a lot of traffic and stress every morning trying to find a place to park. There is already so much traffic around the lot with parents dropping off their kids and I think that this is just going to make it worse because everyone will be trying to get to the lot at once.”
One of the biggest parking issues is that students, including juniors who are not supposed to be driving to school, have started parking in the parking lots that are dedicated to teachers. Teachers are given their own spots and special permits but when students arrive at school, they will take any open spot they see in the parking lot without regard for the teacher it belongs to. This leaves teachers unable to park in their designated spots as they planned.
“I do not really think that these new rules are going to help with kids parking in the teacher lot,” Barrett said. “If anything I think it might make it worse. When the student lot gets filled, the overflow is just going to end up in the teacher lot. Kids will do a lot so they don’t have to walk from the street.”
Students have theorized that WCHS hopes to tackle two of their most substantial problems through the change in parking. The first problem being the ineffective parking and the second of which being the excessive tardiness of many students. WCHS has tried many methods this school year including hall sweeps to try and improve student’s promptness and many think that this might be the tactic to fix it once and for all.
“I feel like the first come first serve rules next year is really going to help with kids being late to first period,” WCHS junior Gabby Mariam said. “A lot of kids wake up late and take their time getting to school but if there is a risk that they will have to park really far away, I have a feeling that people will leave their houses a lot earlier and get here quicker if it means they can park closer to the doors.”
Overall, the student body is not a fan of the stress and chaos that the first come first served parking system is going to bring. The new system is going to bring new challenges and adjustments to student’s already chaotic mornings.
“I’m not looking forward to it and it will definitely make my mornings stressful,” Mariam said. “It’s going to be an adjustment but I think that after a few weeks it will become normal and everyone will get used to it.”
