Spring parking frenzy

    Students with cars have been competing for parking spaces on school and public grounds for as long as recent memory extends. However, spring finds these students in even higher competition as more and more students are granted licenses.

    “It’s becoming too crowded because the sophomores are beginning to drive,” said senior Lex Layton who arrives at the church 45 minutes before school begins in order to acquire a space. “If you can’t find parking at the church, you drive aimlessly around until you can find an illegal parking spot.”

    AHS is only able to allocate 96 spaces to students each year due to lack of space. These parking spaces are situated in parking lots at Ossian Park and the rear of the track, and along the length of the track. However, these spaces are not sufficient to provide for AHS’s 2,600 students, leaving hundreds of students without secured parking spaces.

    The First Presbyterian Church behind AHS, where a majority of spot-less students park, offers a multitude of spaces. Yet, the influx of new drivers has made these spots harder to come by. “I still think it is not fair how we only have 100 parking spots and our school has over 2,600 students,” said Layton.

    “I feel bad that I am a junior and I have a parking space, and I feel bad because I see seniors competing with sophomores and juniors for spaces,” said junior Tim Hepburn, who has a parking space near the track. “I wish we had more parking spots. A lot of other schools have tons of parking spaces, like Lake Braddock, South County, Woodson and Westfield.”

    AHS does have significantly fewer parking spaces in comparison to other schools in regards to their student populations. “West Potomac has no street parking and they have all 175 spots on school grounds. Mount Vernon has about 100 spaces, most of it street parking,” said Safety and Security Specialist Chris Tippins. West Potomac HS and Mount Vernon HS have 1,959 students and 1,783 students, respectively. “Out of the three schools I have worked at, [AHS] has the smallest amount of parking spaces.”

    Coupled with AHS’s lack of space on school grounds is a lack of space in the surrounding community. “The communities have tightened up and now you have to have a neighborhood permit [to park there],” said Tippins. “Communities don’t want the mess.”

    “They used to allow students [to park in the Church parking lot] but there was so much trash in the area, they said no more,” said Safety and Security Assistant Kenneth Williams. “The student’s ruined it for themselves.”

    With parking becoming so scarce at AHS, many students wonder why the school cannot make room for more parking. “This school is too old,” said Tippins. “The school was built on a small piece of land. I don’t see any other way to put more spots. If we had a little more land it would be great. If Four Year Run was twice as big we could have about 50 more spots.”

    When AHS was built in 1954, parking was not an issue because most students rode buses to and from school. Therefore, the school’s blueprints did not plan for many parking spaces. The amount of parking available at a school varies depending on how new the school is, the size of the school, the surrounding area, and the student population.

    “There are so many parking spaces at the back [of the school] that students could potentially use if the buses weren’t there,” said junior Mary Kowalczyk who arrives at school at 6:35 a.m. in order to find a spot. In fact each day there are about 20 spaces in the faculty parking behind the school left vacant.

    “The problem is the buses come in and drop off there and it’s the only feasible place to have them,” said Tippins. “I wish we could have buses somewhere else, but we don’t have the space.”

    Due to the lack of parking on school grounds, the parking application process is quite competitive. “It’s almost like a college application,” said Tippins. A student submits an application for a spot based on needs, activities and grades.

    Though it is mostly seniors who get the spots, some underclassmen are lucky enough as juniors to get spots, such as Emily Koppleman. “There is enough parking, you just have to find it. People are just too lazy to find one so they just have to deal with it,” said Koppleman.

    Once a student receives a space there is a $150 fee that he or she must pay, and students still can lose parking privileges. “They can be taken away if you drive recklessly or get numerous traffic offenses,” said Tippins.