Brynlee Barrette

There are more senior drivers than there are senior-only parking spots.

AMSA might have a parking problem.

With a total of 124 seniors, the exclusive senior parking lot only has 62 spots, not enough for the number of students who drive themselves to school.

The lot behind the newly constructed Main Building is exclusively for seniors, totaling 68 spots — six of which are for visitor parking — and those make up the majority of student parking.

Last year, the senior lot was behind the White Building as construction on the Main Building finished, but it has since returned to being the primary teacher lot.

The change in the location of the senior lot also came with a change in the traffic pattern, creating a loop starting by the White Building and the senior lot and ending at the entrance to Fore Kicks.

“I believe, on my observation, we are ending dismissal on average around 3:03 or 3:05 p.m. every day,” Principal Mike Nawrocki said. “Last year, there were a few minutes added because of student car traffic that was building up.”

The new traffic pattern allows the seniors to be the first to leave as their lot is closest to the entrance, and reduces the amount of traffic in AMSA’s main loop.

“I believe [this year’s traffic pattern] worked beautifully. In the morning, the traffic flow is better than ever,” Mr. Nawrocki said.

The traffic flow may be better, but the parking situation has become sparse and fractured — in addition to the 62 spots in the senior lot, there are 10-12 spots at Fore Kicks, and late arriving seniors likely find themselves looking for a spot in the junior lot.

The junior lot sits behind the Upper School and is shared with teachers. While the lot is supposed to be for juniors only, seniors have begun parking along the edges. It isn’t a problem now, but that may change in the second half of the school year.

“We have a lot of flexibility right now,” Upper School Dean of Students James Fortier said. “As we see through the course of the school year, as more students get their licenses and permits, the lots get a little more congested, but I’d rather have seniors be able to go over to the junior lot instead of trying to worry or stress about getting to school on time.”

While this isn’t a huge problem now, it may grow into one as more juniors begin to get their licenses.

“If I do show up on time, 5 percent of the time I have to park at Fore Kicks because there aren’t enough spots,” senior Evan Mahoney said.

Fore Kicks provides access to the perimeter of its lot for student parking, but those spots are usually taken quickly as students, teachers, and guests park there regularly.

“If [the seniors] feel like there aren’t enough spots, we need to know,” Facilities Director Eric Lane said. “More information is key.”

Both Mr. Lane and Mr. Fortier encouraged seniors to reach out in person or through email if they feel that there are serious concerns or if they are worried about limited spots.

As more juniors get their licenses, potential solutions for seniors may be removing some visitor spots in their lot or providing sections for seniors in other lots.