The issue of student parking has been plaguing Plant High School ever since it expanded to over 100% of its capacity. Students park their cars on nearby streets and parking lots, risking fines for parking in unauthorized areas and even having to walk over 15 minutes to campus. While some say change is necessary, the district believes the current conditions are satisfactory.
“Whenever I get to school any time after 8:20, I already know I’m going to be at least 15 minutes late,” says Ivy Ni (10). “I have to figure out where to park and find some place that is legal.”
Plant High School currently only allows seniors and select juniors who have won a parking lottery to park in the school, creating inconvenience for other students who drive to school. Considering that the school is located in a wealthy zoning district, it is clear why so many students have cars, an issue the school would be seen as more of a rarity than a commonality.
“They honestly need to develop more parking spaces because I honestly stopped driving to school, at least until I get to a parking spot because it’s impossible,” Elesen Ferreira (10) says.
Like honestly, I’m not asking for even a paved parking lot or anything they could just put sand there and that would be fine, or honestly even just leave the grass but just do something about the parking.”
Students appear unpleased when asked about the state of parking in the school. Many people that go to Plant High School live over 20 minutes away and drive. This is because they may not be able to take the bus or depend on their parents to take them to school. In order for these students to be able to secure a parking spot, they may have to arrive up to 20 minutes prior to the school’s start time, requiring them to wake up earlier.
Elizabeth Welch (10) says, “I have about a 15-minute drive on my way to school but every day I have to get here at like 8 a.m. because otherwise I can’t find spots, because I’m not going to pay thousands of dollars for a church parking pass.”
There are students that may not be able to afford the passes in the lots around the school and are often left without parking, forcing them to find impractical—or sometimes even illegal—where vehicles may be towed at the business’ discretion.
This reduces students’ incentive to arrive at school on time or attend at all; many may wake up late and realize that they may not be able to park in time and just give up on the matter altogether.
Brenna Wickham (11) says, “Whenever I wake up late, I may just skip school because I don’t want to deal with all the parking and stuff.”