The bell rings. You’re already out the door and into the hall, racing to beat the crowds of high schoolers as they file out of the classrooms, antsy with the end of the school day. You weave in between groups, going down the stairs two at a time, and cross the quad in long strides.
There’s already crowds of people filling the staircases down to the parking lot, and you’re stuck behind slow walkers. You break away and race to your car, throwing your bag in the backseat and jumping into the driver’s seat. You want to take a second to decompress but there’s no time; you have plans today and you can not be late.
You back up and are about to pull forward when–you can’t. You’re too late. There’s already a line of cars at a standstill waiting to pull out from the single exit. You hang your head, knowing you’ll be there for a good ten minutes. You won’t have time to get ready at home. You accept your fate as the cars ahead move up by a few anguishing feet.
This reality is one students face almost every day after school. The race to get to their car before the after-school traffic sets in is one run by many students, but not often won. This is the outcome of poor design choices: only one exit, that shared by an entry, many twists and turns, and tight corners. Though we can’t change our parking lot, we can address the issue, and how to make it better.
The YLHS parking lot isn’t all bad. It’s big, with an expansive space for parking, giving students leeway and options when choosing their parking spot. It’s conveniently placed between the stadium, pool, and gym, making it a prime spot for sports practices and events. And some may see the many turns and angles as a way to prevent students from speeding through the lot dangerously.
To many, the parking lot is even seen as a rite of passage. The parking lot is a step to growing up for new drivers, a place where they are respected as a driver. Kyla Moll (10), a practiced driver, states that “being a student driver really gives me a lot more freedom and takes away stress from many aspects of school.” She explains that if she stays late for a test, or for practice, she doesn’t feel the need to rush through. She can also drive herself to sports events, instead of taking the bus, “which also helps me feel more independent and it takes away a stress factor from my day.”
However, these freedoms driving provides could be shackled by a poor layout of a school parking lot. This could be true for many school parking lots, but the tight corners, large planters, and lack of exits and entries simply cause mayhem, confusion, and unwanted traffic. Alec Reiger (11), shares that “the parking lot is very tight, and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room to play with. Cars are always next to each other and the tight turns don’t necessarily help either.”
Moll agrees, admitting that “the first day I had my license, I accidentally drove over the curb as I was exiting because it was so tight.”
So the issue has been addressed–the layout of the YLHS parking lot isn’t the greatest. However, sadly, we can’t just go into design mode and shift everything around seamlessly, so we’ll have to figure out a different way to fix the problem. The biggest thing is to be aware. Be aware of your surroundings, because you may never know if a car is going to accelerate, or if a planter curb is going to jump out at you.
Don’t forget to be patient! It’s better to take turns going through the exit then to try and cram everyone in at the same time. No one wants to sit in a high school parking lot for ten minutes, so let’s try and make it a little easier.
Will this automatically fix the problem? Realistically, no. But if everyone takes the time to take it slow and steady and respect the drivers around them, maybe getting home on time won’t be so stressful.
