Main focus on availability of parking spots

Lasirra Hines, Entertainment Editor

With the students not having many of the parking lots due to construction that started around the beginning of December last year, parking continues to be a recurring issue, as some students are parking in the striped No-Parking zones. The main concern right now is keeping students in the available student parking lots and the teachers in theirs while also making sure everyone has the ability to park.

Right now we’re trying to make sure everybody has an opportunity to park,” security officer David Donnert said. “We’re trying our best to keep available parking, trying to [get] the teachers to park in their parking [lot] and students to park in their parking [lot] so nobody is overlapping.”

As in past years, parking passes for the rest of the year will be available for half price for students who didn’t purchase one last semester

“Because we’ve already finished the first semester, if somebody doesn’t have a parking pass, they can still pick one up at half price so $37.50 instead of $75 for the full year,” Donnert said, “so you can very well pick it up that way that’ll allow you to park on campus.”

There has been 74-75 stalls added to the back west side lot, allowing for more students to be able to park in that area, and students can use Door 29 to get in the building. There is also rollover parking in the Sunset Zoo parking lot students are able to use; however, they will have to walk to the front of the school to get in the building. Oak Street parking is still available to students.

Security has been patrolling the areas, making sure that students and teachers are parked in the correct area. There is also someone from security at Door 29 that will be able to let students in to the building.

Parking tickets haven’t been issued yet, as they are just calling students down to the office to tell them to move out of the No-Parking zones. The tickets will be $10 for every ticket you get for parking in those areas. 

There are parking areas that are strictly for teachers, such as the triangle lot and the lot across from the Education Center.

“Just a reminder that the teachers’ lots are on the north side of the building and the upper south side. The students still have the lot on Oak Street down there on the bottom,” Donnert said. “Then the teachers parking in the triangle lot, and the lot across from the Education Center down below the triangle [lot], those are all teachers parking. So, we need to make sure that the students stay out of those parking lots.”