As the school bell rings at 4, students rush and sprint through the halls to get to the parking lot as fast as they can. Looking down the main sidewalk through the courtyard, you see students speed-walking, running, and pushing to get into their cars and beat the traffic. This happens every day as we all try to safely get home after a long day of school, but with 60+ cars and buses all having the same idea, it can become dangerous.
West High’s main road connecting to the school and back parking lot is considered a two-lane road. Considering this, the stoplight can become heavily congested before and after school and athletic events. Currently, Many have experienced waiting up to 20-30 minutes in traffic just trying to get out of West High. For some, this might just be an inconvenience, but for others who are trying to make it to a non-West sports practice or work, it’s impossible without leaving school early.
If not leaving school early, students might try to find other ways, like leaving one minute before the bell without the teacher noticing or sprinting to their cars. For students who park in the back lot consistently, they’ve likely witnessed near accidents as cars dart out every which way. All of these problems are based on the fact that the West High parking lots are not designed to support the massive amount of cars that park there every day.
For those trying to beat the traffic, one of the main dangers is those who are trying to get in line before the buses, otherwise they risk spending an extra 10-15 minutes in line. In the back lot around 10-12 buses sit waiting for students who take the bus home. The buses timed dismissal is 4:05 pm which leaves a five-minute waiting period for those that speed to get in front of them. This is when it can be risky as the line starts to back up and the clock is ticking 4:05. When the buses start to move, students can observe others still trying to get in front of the buses which creates a heaping mess. Many who park in the back lot have seen how crazy it becomes when students do not care about the buses and still try to cut in front of them.
Keeping in mind all of these annoyances, a way to improve West is to create an additional lane leading to Melrose Ave. This new lane would be a right turn only, therefore relieving traffic for all when people wanting to turn right out of West do not have to wait for others going straight or turning left. It would start at the stop sign and end at the traffic light. Understandably, this would cost a lot of money, but over a 5-10 year period, West and students could raise money to build a new lane which would benefit all.
Another way to reduce traffic would be expanding the back lot by removing the hill behind it and leveling it out. This would create a ton of more parking spaces and fewer people would spend less time meandering through the lanes trying to find a parking spot which backs up traffic. Overall, these improvements and suggestions would ultimately lead to a more efficient parking lot for West High School so people can enjoy the school more.
