Ongoing construction has caused some of the faculty and staff to be displaced in the parking lot, leaving their only place to park to be the student parking lot. This has resulted in many issues and complaints.
Gloucester High School has different parking lots for different groups of people who come here everyday, one being a student parking lot. This parking lot is the biggest of them all due to the amount of students who attend GHS. There is also the faculty and staff parking lot, which is relatively smaller since the faculty and staff count is much lower than students.
With the construction that started a few years ago, there comes construction workers. Some of the places where they do their work are in the teacher and staff parking lot, meaning that teachers and staff have lost a majority of their spots. As a result, they have been forced to relocate into the student lot, meaning there were less spaces available for students to purchase for the academic year, as the spots normally designated for students who can drive have now gone to teachers and staff members.
Furthermore, these workers need places to park their vehicles and work equipment. They have also been told to park in the student parking lot. With this space being granted to them, it takes away two whole rows of parking that students are unable to use on top of the spaces that teachers and staff are now having to use.
When I went to get my spot there was a very limited selection due to this, and forced me to park in an nonpreferred spot to my liking. Along with that, many students were unable to get a parking spot at all. The talk during the summer throughout the school body was the lack of parking for students, and this problem needs to be solved.
Some students have taken to creating their own solutions to the parking problem. Cars are being parked in unmarked spots, or even just around the lot which could be a hazard for many different reasons. There is a higher crash probability and less room to maneuver their vehicle during the beginning and end of the day, causing reckless driving.
I feel that the school needs to expand the staff parking lot, and evenly distribute the location of who parks in their respective lot. The construction workers should have their own designated area outside of the student lot, that way they do not have to take up the spots students have been rightfully waiting to earn and purchase. This problem seems to go over school boards head’s, and the top of the chain staff here at Gloucester High School. I think we need to figure out some kind of solution to this or overcrowding will continue to be an issue.
