Students receive parking fines when Big Spring starts enforcing parking passes. Students are ticketed for coming to school without a parking pass. This is of course the students’ fault. Since students can be lazy and bring tickets upon themselves the school could make a change.
Parking passes have good security intentions but have poorly designed restrictions. For example, students will receive a ticket immediately and everyday after without a permit even if it takes some time to service the permit. Students have a maximum of five days to pay their ticket which for some students is not enough time depending on their current home situation.
Other schools have better alternatives for students without parking passes. Coastal academy in Oceanside, California, for example, has two different parking lots. One is located right by the school and is easily accessible. This one is the one that requires permits. They also have another lot across the street from the school that is about a five minute walk but allows students to park without permits.
This is a better way to conduct permitted parking than Big Spring. It gives students an option to park where is easiest for them. Some students have different cars they bring everyday. Some live at different houses every night. It’s hard for them to consistently come to school with their permit everyday.
I criticize the way Big Spring does parking passes because it is a hassle and they don’t understand the living situation for students that may need more time or help to get their parking passes. Big Spring does this poorly and there are other options that would be for the students.
The tickets that students receive are the worst part. They cost $10 and must be paid in five days. Some students don’t understand the need and urgency of getting a parking pass and this causes them to pile up tickets upon themselves and they have to find a way to pay for it. This is a problem that could be fixed simply.
There is a solution to this problem that would enable students to park without a pass and still hold security concerns. The school could provide a second parking lot farther from the school. Students could park there and maybe walk a little farther but would have the option not to bring a parking pass everyday. This would fix multiple problems and help students not have to pay this ticket. This would also lower security concerns with the not permitted students cars being farther away from school grounds.
This option would resolve issues from both parties. It would also be something new to try out that benefits students and the school. As well as also providing more parking spaces in general for students to use. The reason this is so crucial is because students are wasting their money senselessly when it could be avoided. There are reasons students don’t have options like the bus because they may have work directly after or an internship where they leave school early to go to work. Students should be the number one priority at big spring and this is a way to help them.
