If someone pulled up to Dulaney High School at 7:15 a.m., they would most likely be stuck in traffic, waiting to get a good parking spot. If they pulled up any later, they would see an abundance of new drivers pulling in and out trying to find the best spot possible; as more junior students obtain their licenses, the problem only increases.

At Dulaney, there are three options for student parking: the senior lot, the road in front of the soccer fields and the spots parallel to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. There is no parking allowed on Treherne and in front of any residential housing. The lack of options are causing seniors to lose their spots and juniors to leave before 7:00 a.m. to get parking. A survey released to the Dulaney population showed that 39.7 percent of drivers said they leave before 7:15 a.m. to get a spot. 

A frustrated student said, “I keep having to get to school earlier and earlier so I can get a spot that isn’t super far away from school.”

Students have to come to school earlier to try and get a spot, contributing to the loss of sleep. In contrast to people who drive themselves to school, 79.4 percent of non-drivers arrive after 7:15. Is it worth the loss of an hour of sleep for a mediocre spot? 

After the return from winter break, not only juniors were experiencing issues. Multiple seniors and teachers have experienced limited parking due to juniors stealing the spaces. The origin of this issue is the ratio of parking spaces to students who drive to school. If you are caught parking in the Senior Lot without a pass, you will not be allowed to hold a parking pass senior year. One effect of this problem is late arrival seniors have no spaces available after the first period. 

Not only is parking an issue, but as seniors try to leave the senior lot, parents are picking up their kids in it. This blocks the entrance/exit which causes traffic and congestion, and makes it harder for the seniors to go home. Some solutions would be to have parents pick up their kids on the opposite side of Padonia Road or have them park in the lot so it is not jammed and seniors can get out. 

As a proposed solution, a student said, “a traffic director outside the senior lot would also be beneficial by allowing cars to exit more efficiently.”

The stress level of arriving and leaving school has grown with little solution in sight. Due to the location of Dulaney in a neighborhood, there is no space to build a parking lot or find more parking spaces. New drivers will continue to face the added stress of parking at school every day. 

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