Parking Lot Commentary

Parking at Aliso Viejo can be stressful; whether it’s trying to get onto school grounds or maneuver into and out of parking spaces, the parking lot situation this past week has seemed to be more packed than usual. 

According to the attendance office, the number of parking passes distributed is 435 and according to the same source, there are 2800 kids currently on campus. That means that roughly 2,365 kids who don’t have parking passes have to park on the hill or face the car line. If even 300 kids manage to either park on the hill, or find an alternative source of parking, that still leaves around 2,000 kids needing to find a way to get to school on time. When asking about how long it took a mother, Stephanie Barrera, to drop off her child, she commented on how, “It can take 15 to 25 minutes depending on when [they] leave.” This may not seem like a long time to wait in the carline, but for some parents who need to be at work sooner than others or live farther away, this may be an inconvenience. Thus some may feel tempted to drop and pick up their child in the parking lot. 

As many parking lot users will tell you this can add even more stress to an already difficult situation. Madison Rollins (12) explained how,” [She] feels like [she] has to run to [her] car everyday just to beat the traffic and sit in the parking lot for 30 minutes to an hour.” Worrying about school can be stressful enough for students who are preparing to go to college, but then with the additional stress of not being able to get home or to extracurricular activities on time can make a bad situation worse. On top of that many students are either employed or looking to be employed in the near future and if their employer expects them to be at work within an hour of school letting out, they risk being late. On top of that there only seems to be additional limitations to people leaving the parking lot. Juliana Irish (12) claims how, “since only one gate is open the traffic in the afternoon is terrible.” When there are 435 cars trying to get out of the parking lot in one crowded gate, it can be frustrating for students who just acclimated to the new school year, but when teens are faced with additional obstacles it can make for a difficult end of the day. 

Simply put, the getting and leaving are always going to be a little challenging, but with time and everyone’s cooperation things can get better. If the school doesn’t allow for additional access points, then perhaps they would be willing to find other ways to pick up their students without entering the already hectic parking lot.