Should Parents Be Allowed In The Student Parking Lot?

One common struggle for many of Ballard’s students is the afternoon rush, waiting not-so-patiently to get out of the parking lot. This school year, that struggle becomes more pronounced with Kentucky’s House Bill 15. This means that teens as young as fifteen can get a driver’s permit. While drivers still need to be sixteen to have a restricted license, parents being in the parking lot can put a toll on newly independent student drivers. One junior, Helen Peterson, shares her opinion. “Because it holds up all the students, cause they stop in the middle of the driveways, and if they don’t, they park in the spots… especially because they park right in the front, so all the students have to park in the back.” Student opinions such as this highlight one leading question: Should parents be allowed in the student parking lot?

Regarding parents being in the parking lot, Dr. Neuss says, “They have received communication several times that they should not use the parking lots in the AM to wait for drop off, nor should they use the parking lots to drop off.” From a teacher’s point of view, Ms. Lubker, a new science teacher to the building, says, “Oh no. I think parents should be guided in one direction and that students should be over here, parents should be over there… it should be separated, but I don’t know how it can be controlled.” With a long line to drop students off by the North and South entrances, some parents find that it is quicker to pull into the parking lot for drop off.

Dr. Neuss describes the drop-off line as “Congested,” saying “With our current enrollment and the number of student drivers we have a large number of vehicles making their way on and off campus. That said, if parents were patient and followed the expectations shared by the school the traffic would flow much smoother.” Some students have found that their cars pay the price for impatience. Camille Crawford, now a Senior, was involved in an accident on school grounds last year. “The damage on my car was only a few deep scratches, however, the parent’s car lost their entire bumper and many parts inside the engine,” she says. “The accident happened because they weren’t looking for other people when they were pulling out of the lot and knocked into me,” says Camille. This can create a stressful environment for newer student drivers trying to get through the gridlocked parking lot in the afternoon.  Camille continues, “the parent proceeded to gaslight me into thinking that I caused the accident when they pulled into me… After explaining the accident to the police, they came to the conclusion that it was their fault…” This may not be a frequent situation for most students, as Dr. Neuss says “We honestly haven’t had many accidents during my 9 years as principal.”

The parking lot in the morning gets confusing during drop-off, but students also find it stressful to get out of the parking lot after the 3:20 bell rings. “I have to literally sprint to my car to get out in a reasonable time because the traffic builds up so quick,” says Annie O’Bryan, a Junior at Ballard. “…it causes a lot of unnecessary traffic and a lot of times there is no system so they are just randomly parked in the way, which makes it so much harder to get out of the lot than it needs to be.” Camille also points out, “Since they are on their way to work, they are always in a rush to drop off their kids… To save time they try to cut the line by going in the parking lot.” Other student comments include “Because it says student parking lot for a reason,” or “I paid for a parking pass, you did not. Get out of my parking lot!”

A contrary opinion comes from a Junior, Fiona Sheehan. Fiona holds a drivers permit, which means if she drives to school a licensed adult must accompany her. This is one argument, that parents and students need somewhere to park so that the drivers can switch. “For me, I like doing that because I drive and I just can’t get out in the parking lot [drop off line] and we can’t switch because it takes up too much time,” says Fiona. “Like going into the parking lot is so much easier cause I can just park and get out really quick, and then my mom will drive away. She doesn’t have to stop the line,” continues Fiona. Some students do think it is reasonable to let parents in the parking lot. Kaiya Peterson, a Junior, when asked her opinion says “Yes and no. I feel like I should be allowed… sometimes it could be annoying, but I like it because it’s faster.” Another junior, Isabel Howes, shares her experience with the morning drop-off line. “As someone who’s been late all the time… I was a car rider last year and my mom would always take me to school. That line after 8:15 is ridiculous. We should be able to park.”

While students become annoyed and frustrated with the presence of parents in their parking lot, it is a tough situation for the school to control. Dr. Neuss explains how it might be possible to control the flow of traffic in the parking lot. “We could if I had an additional five to eight staff members who were assigned to morning transportation, which is not financially responsible considering the current school budget.”

Students who drive say that parents often get in the way and student drivers pay the toll. Other students say that it is necessary and harmless behavior. While both of these statements are true, it is undeniable that some of Ballard’s problems are caused by the over-flowing nature of the student population.