The issues of Ithaca High School’s parking lot are obvious and pervasive, but also solvable. Arriving and leaving the school become dreaded parts of parents’, teachers’, and students’ days; ninety percent of responders in a school-wide survey rated traffic efficiency as either a one or two on a five point scale. The high school becomes a gauntlet at dismissal and arrival times, with lines of traffic stretching all the way down Cayuga Street, parents banging U-turns to escape, and buses holding up traffic—it’s all chaos and mayhem. The Tattler Editorial Board believes that IHS should work to fix the current traffic problems and make the parking lot more accessible for all students.
Drop off time is usually better than pick up. A majority of the 1,400 IHS students arrive in an hour-long window beginning at 7:45 am, but nearly everyone leaves at the same time, making the end of the day much worse. Many students report waiting fifteen to twenty-five minutes to get out of the parking lot at the end of the day, with some getting blocked in by parents parked in driving lanes. Multiple intersections in the parking lot require zipper merging, where drivers take turns to enter an open lane, which is rarely adhered to and can result in dangerous or aggressive encounters. Walkers from Boynton are often also caught up in the mess, and the crosswalks they use are often ignored or unseen by drivers. This threat to the Boynton students isn’t theoretical, either; a student was hit by a car just last year. We appreciate our administrators and teachers who have given up their time to help during dismissal, but since they stay by the buses, the lot is usually lawless land.
While there are some accommodations made for students who require them, there are few to none for those who are picked up. The accessible parking spots are often directly blocked by the pickup line, which fills up well before dismissal time. Parent and ICSD Board of Education Member Erin Croyle stated that to use those spaces, “you often have to show up well in advance.” She said that in terms of arrival and dismissal, the spots being blocked can result in her being late to work, or her student missing large portions of instructional time. The poor design of the parking lot alongside lack of traffic management means that students with disabilities and their families have to make consistent sacrifices. And families are not alone in believing the parking lot needs change; sixty-one percent of surveyors agree that the parking lot doesn’t accommodate a wide range of needs.
Congestion problems could be solved by repainting the parking lines while utilizing the same lot space. Reconfiguring the lot to separate parking and drop off would prevent waiting parents from interfering with students attempting to leave. Additionally, clearer markings would help prevent issues with zipper merging and confusion surrounding the flow of traffic. Improving the flow of traffic would also automatically ease issues for families attempting to use the accessible spots, but a repainting of the lines could ensure traffic wouldn’t interfere with the accessibility spots. A reconfiguration of the lot could also include changes in where buses from other schools drop off kids at IHS, alleviating traffic on Cayuga Street.
But to implement these changes, and ensure student safety in the parking lot, The Tattler suggests that admin should take a more active role in traffic management. While they already take on the responsibility of helping students cross the bus loop, it would be useful to have crossing guards at other intersections, especially where students cross the exits and entrances to the lot. At the start of the year, a parking lot supervisor could ensure that drivers are following the rules of the lot and not blocking necessary spaces. In past years, admins have taken on such a job at dismissal time, and The Tattler believes that to ensure the safety of their students, they should reprise that role.
IHS must find a way to alleviate the current problems with the parking lot, whether through increasing staff supervision, or through redesign. With a more organized parking lot, dismissal and drop off could be a smoother process for all IHS students and families. The parking lot is a nuisance for everyone, and to solve this problem is to give wasted minutes back to students and families alike.
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