Parking has always been a struggle for South Windsor High School students.
The parking at SWHS is a daily competition. The heavy traffic, strict enforcement of a parking pass and the consequences of not having one are issues cause inconvenience for South Windsor High School students.
One of the main issues is the heavy traffic congestion in the morning, making it a hassle for students to navigate through the parking lot. The traffic jam is not only causing delays in getting to class on time, but it can additionally cause minor accidents and annoyance among students.
New policies, changes and stricter enforcement are something that students expect each year when utilizing the student parking lots, but this year students are made aware of a new change that has been made to the parking lot that changes the experience. In recent years, SWHS has had a set number of parking passes that can be purchased, letting everyone who bought a pass be guaranteed a spot.
With a growing population of students, this creates a daily scramble to find a spot before they are booted to the Upper Duprey lot, which is a lengthy walk away from the school. This ‘first come first serve’ environment also induces stress on students.
“I don’t like it; it gives me anxiety,” senior Kassandra Cortes explained.
Students who signed up for a parking pass after the deadline have had to wait upwards of two weeks until they receive their usable physical sticker which is their parking pass. This means students would have paid for parking in the main lot, but don’t get parking privileges there until they receive their pass much later in September.
Adding to the disaster of the parking lot, the consequences for not complying with the new set of policies that come with the parking lot can result in sizable fines, disciplinary actions from the administration and the possibility of towing passless students’ cars.
In short, the parking situation at South Windsor High School is far from fitting. Though, all of these issues can be resolved by being a responsible student who holds themself accountable by signing up for a parking pass before the deadline, showing up early and being a responsible safe driver, like senior Brian Dailey, who doesn’t go through much trouble in the mornings, “…a little busy but tolerable,” Dailey told The Prowl.
As the school year continues, more students will be receiving licenses and cars, which will create a larger issue in the mornings for the SWHS student body. The students can only hope that this struggle will solve itself, and not load on extra anxiety for the SWHS attendees.
