Is Open Parking Efficient?
Illustration by Daryl Gichui
Staff Vote:
Yes – 12
No – 9
Open parking is the most efficient system of parking:
Open parking, while stressful at times, is also thought to be more efficient than assigned parking. Twelve members of The Bell staff voted that open parking is more efficient. The newspaper staff discussed the new open system of parking and agreed that one positive about the parking is that students aren’t late to first hour because they are able to find a spot that is closer to the school.
Another student said it is helpful because students who get to school early can find a close spot and don’t have to walk a long way. Some teachers say the new parking is fair, because the people who spend their time getting to school early get a reward.
One student said that open parking is more helpful because when athletes have to leave early, they can pull out quickly and get to their destinations faster, because last year their spot might have been far away. One teacher said teachers who start at a different school or get to school late can find a closer spot because more spots were added for them. Students and teachers prefer open parking because it is more efficient.
Open parking is more of a hassle than assigned:
The point brought up many times during the staff discussion was that open parking was a good idea on administration’s part but it needs help in execution. One problem is that without assigned parking spots, it’s harder for students to come forward to administration about misuse of parking.
Sophomores tend to take spots from upperclassmen that have paid for their right to park. One teacher even stated that
he would leave the school for a few hours and come back to a student taking his spot in the staff-only lot. Administration does what they can to prevent this, but many agree they have more important things to do than oversee the parking lot to ensure that everyone in a spot has a parking pass.
Many on staff agreed that being familiar with your space is key to getting in and out of the parking lot in a timely and orderly fashion. With open parking, students never know what spot they are going to get or what car they will be neighboring.
Due to the concerns mentioned by the student body and staff, nine members of The Bell staff voted that open parking was less efficient than assigned parking.
