By Rio Petersen,
Staff Writer.
*Crunch*
Another crash, one of many to occur in the Santa Rosa High student parking lot, and it won’t be the last. With its entrance and exit lying on Ridgway Avenue, next to Ridgway Swim Center and its parking lot and a T intersection, this area is a hot spot for crashes, having resulted in two hit-and-runs in the past year.
Drivers of varied levels of experience in a crowded parking lot, along with busy neighbors and a problematic road, have caused the SRHS student parking lot to be a source of anxiety and fear for many years.
In an interview with the SRHS journalism class, principal Dr. Mark Ryan discussed his goals and ideas for the drop-off and pick-up situation in the student parking lot.
“All of this [the ArtQuest portables and satellites] is going to get demolished. . . the plan is to put in drop-off and pick-up lanes here,” Dr. Ryan said as presented a sketch of the school on a white board. “The architect and I are working on it. . . there will be lanes for parents to drop off and pick up their kids. . . making sure the student parking lot is for students.” With the hiring of people to manage the drop-off lanes in the works, administrators hope that the project will be done over Thanksgiving break. This will be a temporary fix, as planning for a long-term solution is in progress.
As for those who are unlucky receivers of damage from vehicles while parked in the student parking lot, Dr. Ryan encourages all who are impacted to seek an administrator who can direct them to view the parking lot surveillance. “We have 362 cameras on campus. . . though we do have dead zones, even in the student parking lot,” Dr. Ryan explained. “If something happened, I encourage you to go see me or one of the assistant principals and we’ll help you out.”
Parking in the student lot shouldn’t be feared and there needs to be a change. However, even with all of these ideas and reforms to improve the parking lot, it takes time for all moving parts to align and prove that the plan is working. For the time being, we must be patient and always remember to be aware when you drive because the last thing we need is yet another crash.
