Normal West students are unhappy with the current parking lot situation at school. Anyone who is trying to exit the parking lot after school, or enter before school, knows what this traffic is like. During these times of the day, traffic can reach all the way down to the corner of Raab and Parkside Roads.

This kind of traffic during these times of the day can be an issue for students such as senior Lauren Nord who said, “It is extremely difficult to make it to school in the mornings on time. Especially when I have to drop my little brother off at the Jr. High”.

Morning traffic is an issue to students because it can cause students to be late or miss class. But the school continues to do nothing to compensate for students being late due to traffic other than telling them to leave where they are coming from earlier.

“It’s kind of annoying”, stated Normal West senior Dylan Wert. “We aren’t even done with the first month of school and I have already been marked tardy 3 times because I can’t get into the lot in time.”

This kind of traffic in the lot and down the road isn’t only a problem when trying to get to class on time, but it is also sometimes a threat to the safety of staff, parents, and students.

Camden Minster, another Normal West senior said, “My dad is a little (upset) with me today. I had to tell him that someone in the parking lot hit my car because they were being impatient when trying to enter the parking lot.”

Being late to school and being endangered by other drivers are just two of the major problems with the school parking lot. But the school has yet to take any action to prevent accidents and or relieve traffic. 

Senior Paige Lemonager said, “It’s very annoying to think that something as simple as having someone to direct traffic or adding a stoplight on that section of road could save a lot of time and help things flow more smoothly”.