Regency neighborhood permits should be available for WCHS parking

The+car+of+a+WCHS+student+is+parked+legally+in+front+of+power+lines.+The+power+line+field+is+a+trek+for+students+from+school.

Photo by Jack Gans

The car of a WCHS student is parked legally in front of power lines. The power line field is a trek for students from school.

By Jack Gans, Social Media Manager

Parking has been an issue for many years at WCHS, especially when winter comes around. Although a lack of spots is certainly an issue, the winter becomes a factor when students are parked so far away from the school that frost grows on their hair by the time they have finally arrived at school. 

In order to combat this, WCHS should buy the Regency Street parking spots so more students can park closer to school. 

During the second week of school, many students received tickets for just barely parking on Regency when all of the student spots were taken. This could be avoided if the spots are bought by the school.

 As winter approaches, a walk in the cold can be brutal for students in the morning, but it can also be unsafe. Sometimes the school/neighborhood doesn’t even salt the sidewalks in winter, leaving them wet and icy for students to walk on. 

There are spots by the front of the school, but they are very limited and first come, first serve. This means that students have to wake up at the crack of dawn and sit in their car for a long time just to get better parking. 

This is unfair, as sleep should be a priority for students, not getting a good parking spot. Aside from this, having limited spots favors students who live close to the school, making parking for students who live further away even more difficult.Students that live 20 minutes from school shouldn’t have to wake up at 6 a.m. to drive to school early for a good spot.  If Regency parking spots are bought by the school, it would help work to improve the school’s already poor parking situation. Students should not be getting tickets for trying to park closer to the school. 

Along with this, closer parking will increase first period attendance, an issue that Churchill has been trying to address in previous years through various faulty methods.

Would the Churchill students get their parents to drive them if they can’t get a spot, or pay the price and get a ticket? Less than 100 students got a parking lot spot this school year, but the teacher parking lot appears to be far from full. This should mean that students should be able to use up those spots that are being left empty. 

Like the school lot, most of the neighborhoods around the school have parking and are rarely filled up. This makes it a completely wasted space that students should be able to use. 

Ultimately, our school should buy Regency parking to accommodate students safety, provide convenience and prevent tickets.