Parking continues to pose problems despite recent changes

Parking has had its challenges in recent years at HC. There are over 2,500 students and only around 200 parking spots exist. Instead of having issues when it comes to parking, administrators devised a way for certain students to be assigned a spot in what could be considered the fairest way possible. Principal Laura Donovan, the mastermind behind the parking plan, shared the reasoning behind why each spot is assigned.

“The Academy Students get the first spots because they have mentoring projects,” Donovan said. “Then EBCE and Work Study get priority passes, because they are also kids who have to leave early. Next, there is a lottery and students are selected randomly to be assigned spots.”

For those that have to participate in the lottery, a few students believe that the way things are operated when it comes to receiving a parking pass is unfair.

“I think parking passes should be given out by class rank,” Senior Madison Keller said. “This way, students have to work hard to get a pass.”

However, many students have the misconception that if their name does not get drawn in the lottery (that is, if they do not meet the requirements to receive priority parking) that they do not have a chance to get a spot.

“After the lottery, some students who do not claim their pass that day,” Donovan said. “So, we give them three days to come claim their parking pass and provide their information. If they fail to do so, their name gets tossed. After the three days is up, I will draw again and assign students the remaining spots.”

When the multiplex was being built, construction affected the teacher lot. Because of this, administration had to come up with a way to give displaced people spots, but also not take any way from students or teachers.

“The original reason we added the gravel lot was because of the multiplex,” Principal Brady Thornton said. “When we were building the multiplex, it took a good portion of spots away from teachers. When that happened, we had to have a place for them to park so we built the gravel lot.”

The gravel lot is currently located in between the baseball and football field. The lot cost about $15,000-$20,000 to construct, but added an additional 55 spots to students this year.

“The reason we began allotting the gravel spots to students was because all of the teachers’ ended up being taken care of,” Thornton said. “And that was just what was left over.”

Several members of the HC community have wondered if HC plans to expand the parking lot any further than the gravel lot, but administration has said otherwise.

“For right now, our main goal is to pave the gravel lot,” Thornton said. “If it is paved, it may open a few more spots.”