Going to and from school is an obstacle for many MHS students. Chaos surrounds the high school as students and parents rush from place to place.
If seniors are lucky enough to get a parking spot (which up until this year was guaranteed), it can take them up to 15 minutes to get off the high school perimeters after school. “I have been late to work at 3:00 and it’s a half a mile away,” Chloe Schorr stated about the matter. The mantra is “every man for himself” with students ruthlessly cutting off their friends and teachers. Every entrance and exit is utilized. Juniors and visitors have been known to park in senior spaces without mercy.
Although juniors skip out on the battle for getting out of the school’s grounds, they battle on two different fronts: the streets Ridgedale and Burnett. If a junior does not get to Burnett early enough in the mornings, they can get stuck parking all the way down by Chateau Thierry. Parking on Ridgedale is not an improvement. Students can get boxed in, making it nearly impossible to get out of their spot after school. On both streets, students ignore fire regulations and park directly in front of fire hydrants to conserve space. The surplus of snow this winter also created an obstacle for passengers trying to climb out of the parked cars.
The last trial all drivers must face is Ridgedale itself. In the words of junior Zach Green, “Ridgedale is pot holes galore.” This doesn’t seem to make sense considering the road is always under construction. Every bump makes a driver cringe. There are pieces of gravel strewn across the road that lodge themselves in the undercarriage of vehicles.
It is easy to see that the driving situation at MHS is not working. If there were just one more entrance, it could be a huge improvement, such as one connecting the road to the senior parking lot and the Recreational fields. Until then, take Senior Jane Collins’ advice: “School gets out at 2:40, but don’t plan on getting home until 3:15.”