After losing 85 park­ing spots due to the ongo­ing construc­tion, Justice High School’s admin­is­tra­tion made the choice to move staff park­ing to the front lot, inevitably reduc­ing the number of student park­ing spaces. This has left many students grap­pling with limited park­ing options, as there are only 40 avail­able park­ing spots for the Senior class. The situ­a­tion has sparked concern among not only the student body, but staff members as well. 

The closure of the entire back park­ing lot was neces­sary for the construc­tion of the addi­tion, but it has resulted in a signif­i­cant reduc­tion of avail­able park­ing spaces for students. While the over­all count of park­ing spots has only decreased from 329 to 323, students are extra limited in their options. Students who missed the oppor­tu­nity to be one of forty students with park­ing passes are unable to use spots in the lot with­out getting tick­eted, and street park­ing is extremely limited. 

More­over, park­ing in the school’s park­ing lot with­out a purchased spot can lead to a fine that starts at 25 dollars. Orig­i­nally, the school admin­is­tra­tion would give out warn­ings to the students who park with­out a permit. Even­tu­ally, admin­is­tra­tion resorted to tick­ets because students who paid for park­ing sports were losing access to paid park­ing. The Safety and Secu­rity Special­ist David Wall has access to a system that allows him to iden­tify whose vehi­cle the license plate belongs to. 

The lack of park­ing has been a prob­lem for many staff and faculty members. When­ever admin­is­tra­tors pass out tick­ets to students who did not have a park­ing pass, it makes it less diffi­cult for faculty members to have a park­ing spot in the front lot. Avid tutors explain how diffi­cult it can be for them to find park­ing spots because of how many students park in spots they have not purchased. “Often we have had to park on Patrick Henry [Dr.],” and Avid Tutor noted, “[this occurred] for about a month straight.”

Strict Govern­ment regu­la­tions prevent students from park­ing on the resi­den­tial side of Peace Valley Lane. Students who parked there explained they were tick­eted by govern­ment author­i­ties. Junior Adam Syar explains how this has presented a prob­lem for his fellow students. “It’s not fair that they are forced to park [outside of school], and then [admin] tick­ets them for it.” 

Syar further notes how the lack of park­ing is some­thing he dislikes and in an attempt to avoid the real­ity we are currently facing he had previ­ously signed a peti­tion to pave a portion of Justice Park. He also describes how the lack of park­ing has affected him, stat­ing “it makes it more of a hassle to get to school and leave school.”

Students must pay 200 dollars for their park­ing spot and they must have their park­ing permit at all times. The park­ing spots were only sold to seniors with the excep­tion of a few juniors. Many students, includ­ing Senior Cliodhna Collins expressed the inac­ces­si­bil­ity of the park­ing spot prices “Paying 200 [dollars] for a street park­ing spot is crazy.” The price for park­ing is one that many students can’t afford, espe­cially when consid­er­ing the amount of students in our commu­nity who are low income. 

Colleen Lally, Justice High School’s Assis­tant Prin­ci­pal, explained, “We want our students to have a spot here.” Lally also explains that riding to school in a car is not the only option provided to students. 

Regard­less of the amount of trans­porta­tion options provided, the lack of park­ing is present­ing a prob­lem for students and staff. With a school that has a student popu­la­tion of 2,191, having 323 spots is not enough.