Parking Issues for Nardin Students

Sophia Cardillo '26  ~  November 2024

On any given morning in the halls of Nardin Academy, you might hear students complaining about their horror story of finding a parking spot. Have you ever witnessed one of your classmates entering first block late because they could not find a parking spot? This experience is not uncommon due to the lack of parking spots for Nardin students. Unfortunately, this considerable issue will only worsen as more juniors begin getting their licenses. 

Students face a number of negative impacts as a result of finding a parking spot. For example, students have to wake up especially early in the hope of getting a spot relatively close to Nardin. By waking up earlier, students are more tired and robbed of the necessary hours of sleep teenage girls need. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teenagers aged 13-18 should sleep 8-10 hours every 24 hours, and with the packed schedules Nardin students have with after-school sports and homework, naps are usually not an option. Therefore, these 8-10 hours are left to be spent sleeping at night, which cannot fully happen because students have to wake up early to get a spot. 

Other concerns about this issue surround the street parking around Nardin. For example, residents on Auburn, Cleveburn, and Melbourn sometimes struggle to get out of their driveways due to Nardin students blocking them in. However, blocking their driveways sometimes seems to be the only option when there are no spots and school is about to start. These residents get pounced on when leaving for work in the morning as 8am approaches; when someone gets in their car to leave for work, their spot is already being slid into. Moreover, while students are hastily trying to find a spot, they have hit numerous cars owned by other students and inhabitants of these streets. These circumstances are unfair to the residents, but the Nardin students have no choice because if they show up a minute late to school, they gain an automatic demerit, and every time they show up late after the demerit is a detention.

A possible solution to the parking problem is making Office Hours a soft start to the day before first block where students would be required to be present in their Office Hours location by 8:30am at the latest. This would be beneficial because most residents of the streets surrounding Nardin leave for work around 7:30-8:30, so having a soft start would allow for students to find a parking spot with less stress. This would provide students more time to park, while also offering them more time to sleep because they will not have the stress of waking up excessively early to find a spot. Positive results of this soft start would include students not hitting cars because they will no longer be rushing and students being more respectful towards residents by allowing them time to get in their car and pull out.

Another solution could be allowing students to pay for parking passes for the unoccupied spots in the teacher parking lot. Parking spots for students would prevent the said issues that result from street parking, and money from the student parking passes could significantly benefit the school. A positive outcome of students parking in the teacher lot is students will be able to sleep in without the stress of finding a spot on the street in the morning. Additionally, if a student pays for a spot under the parking lot cover, their car will not get covered with snow in the winter which can be a lot to clean off after a long school day.