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The Spot Struggle

Tristan Stewart
SQUEEZE! Senior Soren Peterson skillfully parks in a tight spot. Soren has first period off and often struggles to find a good parking spot.
SQUEEZE! Senior Soren Peterson skillfully parks in a tight spot. Soren has first period off and often struggles to find a good parking spot.

Depending on the day, finding a spot in one of Vashon High School's parking lots can be challenging. You either have to find a spot at the back, or cram into the compact parking by the tennis courts.

At VHS, parking is essential to the student body. Easy access to parking allows students to get to their class on time and quickly. With the overall attendance rates of our students declining, one could point to parking as a point of contest. We underestimate how important ease of access to parking is. I, myself, am more inclined to go to school when I know that there will be adequate parking available. This issue has only gotten worse throughout the year, and the poor parking especially impacts seniors who have late arrival.

Students have begun parking in the student link spots as they aren't able to find a spot fast enough. This action results in limited spaces for the students who attend student link and further hinders all the students' experiences. The administration acknowledges this, and will call in students who park in their designated parking. This further delays students' education and complicates students' workflow.

Additionally, leaving school at the end of the day can be complicated. If you park in the main parking lot, you run the risk of traffic and can only leave through one exit due to the commuter buses. With all this in mind, the upper lots tend to fill up faster than the lower one. This is due to how far away the lower lot is from the majority of classrooms. Although it is much easier to park in the lower lot, the amount of parents picking up students can make it more difficult. Combining that with the possibility of turning left out of the parking lot onto the Vashon highway, makes leaving the lower lot more tedious.

So what can we do about this? There may be some flexibility on where the commuter buses park at the end of the day. The commuter buses normally leave before the non-commuter buses arrive and get there much earlier. Parking the commuter buses closer to the school could open up the exit to the main parking lot. This would give students an alternative exit that could reduce the overall traffic.

Overall, VHS should arrange a more efficient parking system that could save students time. With more and more students getting their permits, the parking lots are filling up by the day. Overall, It is clear that we have some room to grow in terms of making parking easier and more accessible for students.

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