Leesville student parking lot needs to see changes in the future.

The Leesville student parking lot holds tons of cars. Every day the herd of students manages to cram their cars into the tiny spaces. (Photo courtesy of Cayley Kennedy)

The Leesville student parking lot is absolutely slam-packed with cars. Every single spot available is filled with students by at least the second month of school. With cars of all colors, sizes and brands, the parking lot is quite the sight.

To understand the student parking lot you first must understand how it is set up. There are two sections of parking spots at Leesville. They are referred to as the junior and senior lots. The senior lot, which is the entire area as soon as you walk up the main steps to the parking lot, is where most all seniors park. The senior lot is the prime place to park because spots are closest to the stairs and a lot bigger in width than the spots in the junior lot.

There are several differences between the junior and senior lots, but one of the most unfair and frustrating differences is simply the space between spots. The space between rows in the senior lot is much bigger in width and length than the junior lot is. Having a bigger car in the senior lot isn’t really a big deal, but in the junior lot the back end might stick out of the spot. It is also almost impossible to back out without coming extremely close to hitting the car behind you.

Having a parking spot in the senior lot has several advantages. First, and most importantly, having a senior spot allows you to be able to get to your car quicker, which in turn helps you to be able to leave quicker. During lunch and after school, the massive amounts of cars that have to leave is insane. So being able to leave before the backup starts allows a person to be out of the parking lot up to 10 minutes quicker than some.

In addition to being able to beat the traffic after school and during lunch, the senior lot is much closer in walking distance than the junior lot. Therefore, when it’s raining or extremely cold, you don’t have to put on full rain gear or seven layers of clothes just to walk down to your class.

The junior lot on the other hand, is much different. The junior lot (at times), feels like it’s miles away compared to the senior lot. You can’t get your car very quickly so you typically end up sitting in the massive line of traffic for 10 or so minutes. Also, when the weather is extreme, the walk up or down from the parking is nothing short of painful.

The size of the parking spots are also another difference between the two lots. The senior lot has spots that are much bigger in width than those in the junior lot. It is extremely irritating having to squeeze your car into a spot that is obviously too small and run the risk of the person next to you hitting your car as they attempt to park, or ding your doors getting out.

Brenna O’Brien is a senior at Leesville and has parked in both the senior and junior lots. “The senior lot is much easier to park in. When I parked in the junior lot, I was always worried someone was going to hit my car, or I would back into someone else because it is just so tight of a fit,” said O’Brien. She also commented on how unfair it is that the junior lot is so much smaller. “I think it’s extremely unfair that the senior lot is so much bigger than the junior lot. They should definitely try and make the spots more fair,” said O’Brien.

It is obvious that there are major discrepancies between the junior and senior lots. The space between the backs of cars are much smaller in the junior lot than the senior lot, and the width of the spaces is also much smaller. The junior spots need to be redone in order to make it more fair for everyone parking in the lot. Also, by making the spots bigger it will reduce the number of accidents in the lot.

Overall, fixing the junior lot spaces will benefit everyone.

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