Traffic in the front parking lot of Oswego High School is terrible at 7 a.m. Students who drive themselves to school are not the issue here; parents who drop their kids off are. The effectiveness of the student drop off system is so inefficient, it causes more harm than anything else.
I park in the front lot, which is arguably the worst parking lot at Oswego High School since it only has one entrance and exit. I drive a big car, and I cannot tell you how hard it is to maneuver around parents who are in the line to drop their kids off. However, if it is raining, god forbid if someone gets a little bit wet — all bets are off. On a nice day when the weather is beautiful, and it is not raining, students typically leave their parent’s car 50 feet back from door one. On a rainy day, however, that number shrinks to about 10 feet.
Students will also get out at a snail’s pace, causing traffic to become even more backed up. I typically leave my house around 6:55 a.m. and get to school around 7:10 a.m. When it is raining and wet outside, it will take me an extra 5-10 minutes to get to school simply because students do not want to get out of mommy and daddy’s car.
It has gotten to the point where these drivers are causing me to be late to school and class. It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to go four miles to school. Unfortunately, it does. If you cannot be bothered and leave your parent’s car, then you shouldn’t be getting dropped off in the first place, especially when there is a free bus that can take you to school.
There are many ways to resolve my frustrations, having a teacher, administrator, or dean’s assistant waving people down and telling people to get out of their parent’s cars and walk to the building. It’s not that hard. Also, there is a lot of real estate in the parking lot. If students had their parents pull farther up past the typical stopping point, I can guarantee that your walk to class is longer than you walk to the building from your parents car. Also, prepare better if it is raining, bring a rain jacket or umbrella. You can decide if you get wet or not. You getting wet is not comparable to students being late for class and school. Our school is too broke to redo the front lot entrance.
I understand that it can be a long walk, but say you have an art class and then have a science class. That’s the longest walk a student can take in a day, and do students do it? Yes! Everyone should be able to get out of a car and walk for 50 to 75 feet. Simple as that. It is not that hard. Please, for everyone that has to get dropped off, get out and walk to the door as soon as you can!
