Alternatives for students without parking passes

The overwhelming amount of student drivers recently became an issue in the struggle to snatch a parking space.

“This school is built for 2,800 students, which means 700 per class and maybe 400 that drive, but we’ve surpassed that,” Principal Dan Serrano said.

The limited amount of spaces due to exceeding student capacity has left drivers with slim options, and because of this, some students decided to park in the Flipside lot and walk to school.

Students in the Flipside lot have attracted numerous complaints due to reckless driving. Police have also brought up the issue of those who jaywalk to get to their parked car faster.

So what can be done to fix this?

Juniors who do not get pulled in the parking lottery are placed on a waiting list, which is one solution that seems tedious as only 16 people out of about 170  this year have gotten a space through this method.

Selling parking passes in the Flipside lot could regulate the amount of students parking there since more will become old enough to drive as the year goes on. The price can be discounted due to the extra walking, but this does impose extra work and liability on the property manager.

Campus police can continue to supervise student drivers in the lot and report those driving recklessly who will be fined and have their car towed.

Also, juniors can carpool by forming groups that place their names in for the parking lottery. If one or more of the group members get chosen, they can drive any others that had not.

One of the most prominent solutions for students seems to be parking in the Flipside lot and walking to campus, but this may not be the best option.

“There is probably liability and risk,” Flipside’s general manager, Nate Hirni, said.“Whether one of our guests created the problem or one of the students did.”

Because of these legalities, Serrano and the property manager of the lot drew up a legal agreement saying the school would provide security before and after school to supervise the students’ driving.

As for jaywalking, “I think it’s a terrible idea and I think it’s really dangerous, especially as a driver now,” junior Andréa Martinez, who is currently parking in the Flipside lot, said. “It makes me nervous driving that street, honestly.”

This likely encompasses the thoughts of all driving down that road, so to ensure no jaywalking, students seen by the police will be fined.

With an ever-rising student population, it seems that Perry’s most obvious solution is to attempt to purchase new land to construct a second lot for student parking. Plans are in motion to try to secure land near the seminary building, however, homeowners nearby are reluctant to allow this.