By Bari Cohn
News Editor
Mira Costa High School’s administration introduced a new parking pass lottery system on May 1 that will be available to incoming seniors for the 2017-18 school year. Although this new method will be more fair toward seniors by giving them priority, to improve the system even more, the school should expand student access to parking for those who arrive at school at first period or later, since there is limited parking available at those times.
As opposed to previous years, only seniors may apply for a permit for the 2017-18 school year. The administration will enter all seniors who applied for the pass into a lottery by which about 190 names will be randomly selected. Then, administration will notify those who received a pass over summer break, and seniors will be able to claim their passes from the office once they pay a fee of approximately $50 at registration.
According to a La Vista survey of 202 students, 60% of respondents believes that the lottery method is the fairest method by which the school can distribute parking passes. Although there is no perfect solution to Costa’s limited availability of parking spots, the random selection of students serves as the most fair process because it allows all students to be considered on an equal playing field instead of putting those who were unable to sign up early at a disadvantage.
According to the survey, 74% of the respondents believes that Costa made the right decision by reserving its parking spots for seniors only. By saving spots for seniors, administration will establish a precedent that prioritizes those who have been at Costa for the longest and have likely been driving the longest to have access to the school’s amenities, such as on-campus parking.
Furthermore, of the surveyed students who take a zero period, 19% of the respondents has a very difficult time finding parking compared to 71% of students that comes to school at first period that have a very hard time finding parking around campus. Although prioritizing all seniors is a step toward more just permit distribution, the administration should also prioritize distributing parking passes to seniors who come to school later in the morning, since more spaces on or near campus are available before the start of zero period.
While parking can pose a problem for students who arrive at school throughout all times of the day, students who come later tend to be at a greater disadvantage. Without a parking pass, students have a difficult time due to a lack of spaces surrounding Costa’s campus. Restrictions, such as street sweeping during certain hours of the day and the construction on Meadows Avenue make certain spaces in the neighborhood unavailable, which can cause tardiness and stress that accrues as students try to find a spot.
Although this new method of distributing parking spots is a good first step toward properly accommodating seniors who drive to school, there are still many students who are at a disadvantage in terms of parking. The limited number of parking spots calls for greater changes, such as prioritizing students with schedules beginning later in the morning and increasing access to other parking options.
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