On March 15th and 16th, girls basketball played at the state tournament. Eager for students to come and support the team, BSM sent fanbuses to pick them up and drive them to the game. Because of this, parents were requested to pick their kid up at 1:30, while the rest of the school was dismissed at 1:05. The significantly less full parking lot at 1:05 sparked the attention of many students, resulting in a new idea to fix the parking lot chaos.

Rushing to get out of school at 2:30 is something that has become all too ordinary with students. Not just because they would rather be at home, but because of the need to exit the parking lot fast, before the traffic comes. With many students, a small parking lot, parents waiting and taking up space to pick their child up, being only minutes behind the rush can set you back very far. Students find themselves sitting in their cars, not moving, and waiting to get out of the lot so they can actually get home. For some, waiting in the parking lot accounts for more than their actual commute. Students find themselves stuck behind parents, who can’t move if their child has not come out yet. This creates a significant back up in the lot, resulting in more and more time stuck not moving.

However, last week proposed a new solution to this problem: Parents not arriving in the lot until after every student has cleared out. The empty roundabout allowed for students to make a quick exit, faster than ever before. This cut off a very significant amount of time, some ranging from 5-20 minutes.

For this to work on a regular school day, students would get dismissed the typical way, starting at 2:30. With no parents holding up traffic, most students would be out by 2:40. Then, parents would be allowed to come into the parking lot at 2:45. This 15 minute change would only slightly alter their schedules, as getting out of the lot would be very easy, considering all of the students are gone. One commonly asked question would be how to prevent parents from entering early, or waiting in the neighborhoods. On March 15/16th, someone was outside conducting traffic, and had cones blocking off the entrance into the parking lot. It was physically impossible for any parent to get in.

It seems obvious that BSM needs to do something about the parking lot traffic, and this is one of the easiest solutions. Nothing would change for students, except for an easier and safer way home.