Rocky Mountain High School’s parking lot has long been a point of contention with the student population. Many students have anecdotal stories about other people cutting them off, people driving up on the curb, and general frustration. Rocky’s population has grown steadily over recent years, but the parking lot has remained the same size. What do current Rocky students have to say about this parking situation?

Zaryana Galushkin shared what she thinks about the school parking lot: “I really don’t like it. People take up more space than they need to drive down the lanes, and everybody is always just in a rush to get out.”

Research from Cornell University shows that “searching for parking creates 30% of the congestion in crowded areas, where drivers spend an average of 7.8 minutes looking for a spot.”

Students also find it aggravating to let others merge into traffic. Galushkin said, “I find that so annoying and I never let them in. They can wait in line like everybody else.”

“I have been hit 3 times in the parking lot. The first time, I wasn’t even in my car. All the times I’ve been hit, was from people backing up. And I’ve been pretty close to being hit while walking.”

How could the parking lot situation improve? Last school year, parking may not have been as large of an issue when students were on a hybrid learning schedule, but this year, all students have been on campus, exacerbating the parking problem.

Galushkin said, “Maybe just have people out there making sure people are staying in line, not going on the other side of the road, hopping the curb and letting other cars into the main line to keep the flow going and actually letting people in.”

Not only could traffic monitors help, but students can also help by staying calm while driving and letting others merge when safe.

Rocky’s student population may also begin to decrease as other newly-opened schools, like Owyhee, may help to offset the overpopulation problem. This could result in more parking spaces for students who remain at Rocky.  Carpooling, walking to school, biking, skateboarding or being dropped off are also some solutions students can consider.