New “No Parking” Signs, Fewer Spots Curtail Parking
Parking possibilities for students have been limited due to new signs that prohibit parking on streets adjacent to the school and a decrease in parking spaces in the student lot.
Students who did not receive 1 of the 230 parking permits sold this year can no longer park along the side streets around the school.As a result of neighborhood complaints, the city has put up signs on streets such as Almond, Gordon, Alicia and Sunkist, prohibiting parking during school hours.
The signs appeared on different dates in the past few months, depending on the street. In fact, junior David Zinn returned from school the day the sign went up on Almond Avenue to find that his car, which had been legally parked when he arrived at school, was now parked in a “No Parking” area.
“It’s ridiculous,” junior Parker Spielman said. “If people choose to buy a house near the school, they should know that students have to get to school.”
The student lot underwent several changes over the summer. Lines were redrawn diagonally, resulting in a loss of parking spaces.
According to Satterwhite, the renovation of the parking lot stemmed from additional neighborhood complaints of student parking on side streets.
Students had also been parking in the walkway of “dead space” and were receiving higher fines for blocking handicapped access.
Satterwhite said that a neighborhood resident created a design that would alleviate these problems. However, the extra width needed to slant the lines were miscommunicated; the lines were redrawn slightly wider than expected.
As a result, only 230 student parking permits were sold this school year compared to last year’s 250.
Students are also concerned with the number of staff cars parked in student spots, easily noticeable due to the blue staff permit hanging from the car’s rearview mirror.
A teacher, one of several who parks in the student parking lot, says his spot is “so far away” that it is more convenient for him to park in the student lot.
“They have their own spots,” senior Noelle Caron said. “We should be able to park in our own sports that we paid for.”
The teacher acknowledged that the students “have a valid concern” but said the administration told staff that this is allowed. Satterwhite said that the parking policy requires everyone stick to their assigned spots. However, music teacher Ted Ferrucci said he was told that if a teacher’s spot was taken, they could park in the student lot.