Many Libertyville students drive themselves to school each day, but recently, the issue of where they can park their cars has turned into a serious problem. Lack of parking for both seniors and underclassmen is a serious conflict, and it needs to be resolved.
Lack of Parking for Underclassmen
The issue of parking for underclassmen has plagued Libertyville High School for years. Due to the small size of our senior lot, sophomores, juniors, and even some seniors are unable to park at the school. In addition, the Brainard lot, where many underclassmen have parked in the past, will be closed until Thanksgiving as a result of construction, according to Ms. Mary Todoric, d128’s communication director. This parking debacle leaves underclassmen with limited options as to where they will leave their car during the school day.
The primary option for most underclassmen who have nowhere to park is the Dymond lot. However, with the closing of Brainerd, Dymond has been filling up much more quickly. According to LHS junior Charles Kolterman students are forced to arrive very early if they would like to park at Dymond.
“I park at Dymond on most days, but it fills up before 7 most mornings,” Kolterman explained. “I have to wake up really early every morning just so I can get a parking spot.”
The main reason why parking is such an issue for juniors and sophomores this year is because of the demolition of the Brainerd building. The demolition resulted in the parking lot being closed until Thanksgiving.
“Weather permitting, we hope to have the parking lot at the Brainerd property open after Thanksgiving,” Ms. Todoric explained. “There is simply a lot of work to be done, including building the restroom/storage facility.”
Brainerd has always been a preferred place to park for underclassmen because it is decently close to the school and it is a fairly large parking lot. The closing of Brainerd has left many LHS students clueless as to where they should park.
The Libertyville administration should recognize that the lack of parking for underclassmen is an important issue, and it should be addressed. Although it is easier said than done, there needs to be more parking areas for underclassmen closer to the school. In addition, there should be a shuttle system where a bus can come and pick up groups of students from the available parking lots and shuttle them straight to LHS. Some may argue that shuttling kids from Dymond or Butler is not the best use of our resources, but students’ safety should always be the number one priority. In the sub-zero temperatures of winter, frostbite can take effect very quickly, and students should avoid long walks.
If you are an underclassman with no place to park, there are still some options. Students can park in the fishing lot across from Butler Park. And although it is a long walk, it is a pretty decent option considering the circumstances and lack of available parking. Another option is to carpool with a senior with a parking pass, or an underclassman who has reserved a place to park (i.e. a friend’s house). And finally, although it is not ideal for many, underclassmen may take the bus to and from school.
Senior Parking Pass Issue
For many years at Libertyville High School, seniors have stressed over possessing a parking pass. This stress is due to the fact that the senior lot houses approximately 320 available parking spaces for around 500 senior students, leaving many seniors without passes. Over the summer, the school emailed all of the incoming seniors to let them know that the parking passes would go on sale at 8 a.m. on July 15.
When this date arrived, however, an array of technical difficulties and glitches bombarded the website. Many students reported that the site rejected their student ID number, and others reported that they could not get on the website at all.
Five days after the difficulties occurred, the students received another email, explaining that the “first come, first served” policy that was used in the past would no longer be in order. Instead, students were asked to fill out a form and then be chosen at random to receive a pass. Students who did not receive the pass were to be put on a wait list.
A Libertyville senior, who wishes to remain anonymous, was very upset about being put very low on the waiting list.
“The whole situation made me angry because I logged onto the first website on time, but it said I didn’t get a pass,” the senior stated. “Now they gave passes to about 30 kids on the waiting list, but I still didn’t get one.”
The school could have handled the parking pass situation better. Instead of the random selection of who is to receive a pass, administration should have added in more factors to decide who needs them the most. For instance, if a student lives further away or if they have no other place to park, they should be able to get a pass. In addition, students who have no other means of getting to school and who cannot carpool should have a higher priority on the list. Finally, seniors who have any medical disabilities that could impair their ability to walk longer distances should be able to park in the lot.
Only about 70 percent of seniors have the privilege of parking in the senior lot, and because of this, the school should have a better system of choosing those students. Although it gives all students an equal chance of being chosen, a randomized system is not completely fair. Some students need parking passes more than others, and those factors should be taken into account when choosing who receives them.
Libertyville High School must find better parking options for not only seniors, but all other students. The long walks from Dymond and Butler are not ideal, especially in the winter. Also, the randomized system should not be used when giving parking passes to seniors because it leaves many students with no options as to where they can park.
