After a long day of school, students who park their cars near the football stadium must deal with one final obstacle: getting out of the parking lot. Navigating the East Lot at this school poses a significant challenge for students, particularly during dismissal. The scene is often chaotic, with a single long line of cars leading to one exit while perpendicular rows attempt to merge. A small gap between two cars in the long line is enough for a car to swerve between them, posing a safety risk for all drivers. Considering that this parking lot is only used by student drivers who are often inexperienced and in a hurry to leave, this raises many questions about the safety and integrity of the parking situation at this school. The chaotic environment, coupled with the presence of inexperienced drivers in a hurry to leave, raises serious concerns about safety and the overall integrity of our parking situation.

To their credit, administrators have examined several options to fix the problem. Assistant Principal Toby Steele, who deals with building and grounds concerns, said extensive research has been conducted on the parking situation through the use of drones. What he has determined is the problem is largely outside of administrators’ control. He said adding staff to direct traffic at the parking lot, for example, will significantly slow down the traffic, which could lead to more accidents as students rush to exit. With that in mind, while we understand manipulating traffic may be an unlikely solution, there are still options for administrators to consider to help improve the parking situation, whether that would be creating a required safety video or organizing a mandatory meeting with all student drivers. 

But administrators can only help so much. The HiLite staff ultimately believes it is the shared responsibility of all drivers to ensure their own safety and the safety of others while using the parking lots. If each driver were mindful of their own behaviors, accidents in the parking lots would be significantly reduced. Additionally, students must prioritize safety over other commitments especially during peak dismissal times, practicing patience and flexibility when exiting the parking lot. Students who have a job or other commitments after school may be more inclined to make rash decisions when exiting. Therefore, students must put their commitments aside and make safety the first priority. Additionally, we recommend students to employ “zipper merging,” where cars take turns allowing each other to merge. Utilizing this approach, for each car in the long line of the East Lot, one car from the perpendicular rows can merge into the long line. In this way, cars will exit the parking lot with improved safety and an overall increase in efficiency. With a collective effort, we can ensure a safer environment for all CHS drivers.