As the population of student drivers at Hart High grows over the course of the year, the flawed school parking system becomes increasingly problematic. Hart’s parking system has been modified slightly throughout the years, but even still, it fails to adequately serve the needs of students who own cars. 

Currently, students who drive themselves to school are not guaranteed a parking space despite the purchase of a parking pass. This pass costs a pricey $50 and truthfully, it’s useless. Parking passes technically give you the right to park on campus, but the absence of one is not reprimanded in the slightest. Administrators occasionally give warnings about parking rules via Hart TV, but no one actually patrols the parking lots. In fact, the Hart Parent-Student Handbook for the 2021-2022 school year doesn’t list any consequences for parking violations of any kind.

If parking passes simply corresponded with parking spots, students wouldn’t be wasting $50 and they would be guaranteed a spot as long as supplies lasted. Instead, if they choose to abide by the loosely kept rules, students will spend money on a pass just to struggle with finding an open spot nearly every morning for the rest of the year. Between bustling traffic from drop-offs and pick-ups and people parking illegally because they can’t find an open spot, Hart’s parking lots are stressful to navigate. The parking lots are too small for this much commotion, and many students end up having to park extremely far from their classes, sometimes even on the street. 

Students who pay to park on campus deserve convenient and abundant parking. Hart has the potential to ensure this privilege for students, yet they continue to ignore the issue. All in all, Hart’s parking system has a lot of room for improvement and its shortcomings are greatly inconveniencing the student body.