*This story includes pseudonyms to protect the confidentiality of students.
“All the spots were gone before I could even apply,” junior Addison Moeller said. This year, many students struggled to get parking passes, causing frustration and worries throughout campus.
M-A has 240 parking spots in the Main Lot and 45 in the T-lot. Even after deciding to open up the Athletic Lot, with approximately 1,000 upperclassmen, many students were left without a parking pass—and with plenty of annoyance.
Despite the fact that all students who receive a parking pass have agreed to the regulations and instructions in place, last year, students’ illegal parking habits caused issues for others. Many parked in the red loading zone by the front office to avoid being ticketed, which posed a safety hazard. “If there is an emergency, cars parked in the red zone could block fire trucks and emergency personnel from entering the parking lot,” Administrative Vice Principal Secretary Roxana Fuentes said.
Parking in red zones also holds up buses from other schools that need to get student-athletes home. “One time, it was a good hour that [the students] were stuck here,” Administrative Vice Principal Tina Smith said. Recently, the school has been ticketing and towing offending vehicles during and after school hours.
The influx of cars hungry for a spot doesn’t just hold up administrators and visitors, but students too. “On average, it takes me 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot each day, and I only have five classes,” senior Tamara Rubinsky said.
“The increase in demand comes from more students driving solo instead of carpooling, and there are more student drivers,” Smith said. To put it in perspective, last year the wait list—which is formed when the maximum number of applications have been accepted—was created in October, whereas this year, the wait list started during the summer. “I submitted my form this year a week earlier than I did last year, and I still got put on the wait list,” senior Auden Jones said.
When filling out their application, students need to submit their information, registration, insurance, and their driver’s license, with everything up to date. “Anything that was expired, I sent back to the bottom of the list,” Fuentes said.
Students are sent an agreement contract after their application is accepted, and are obligated to agree to the conditions and rules that come with parking in the lots.
Seniors were sent an email with the application process a day earlier than juniors, but for students like Jones, who were on vacation, they weren’t able to get the needed paperwork in time.
All senior applications are reviewed before juniors. “It’s a tradition for seniors to have priority, and some have to go to work, or a lot of them have to take themselves to appointments and stuff like that. So they need that flexibility to come in and out, in comparison to other students,” Administrative Vice Principal Elaine Rios said.
Originally, the Athletic Lot was supposed to be closed off for staff parking, but it was later opened up to students. Despite this, many students were unable to obtain a pass and are still continuing to park illegally without one, especially juniors.
Although ticketing intensified, many students like Emma* continue to park illegally. “Everyone knows someone who parks illegally at school,” Emma said. “I’m just going to get tickets this year, I guess.”
“Last year, a lot of people decided to park in [the senior lot] even though they didn’t have a parking pass, which made it take a long time to get out. So, honestly, I feel like they should ticket more people if they don’t have a parking pass,” Rubinsky said.
The school advises students to apply early, have proper documentation, and be mindful of accessible parking access and rules for parking in general.
