Being able to drive is a right of passage for many 16 year olds. Pulling up to the DMV after nailing the test, maybe on the first try, maybe on the third or fourth try, is an exhilarating experience to say the least. The independence granted by a license frees many students who are able to drive a parent’s car, or, if they are lucky, their own car.

Prior to this past January, students who did not have a parking permit for any of the school parking lots parked on Tullar or Appleblossom. This situation particularly impacted sophomores, who were ineligible for parking permits.

Because many students parked on the streets in front of and next to the school, Principal Brian Wunderlich has been concerned about what he says is “the lack of visibility getting into and out of various parking lots,” as parking was available up until a few feet from the entrances of most parking lots.

According to Wunderlich, the City of Neenah shared his view that “plowing in the winter and mail delivery for some of our neighbors was further complicated by the number of cars in the streets.”

Therefore, about a year ago, the N.J.S.D. started working with the City of Neenah to come up with an alternative to the current parking situation. Wunderlich believes they found the best solution to this problem: “Opening up the parking lots in Memorial Park for NHS students during the school day and clearing the area around the building on Appleblossom and Tullar.”

Wunderlich is pleased with the outcome of these measures, sharing that the current reality is much safer as he has driven around the campus several times the past few days particularly with the recent snow. He adds that, “I understand that change can be hard but when it comes to safety I feel these changes are significant improvements.”

Facilities Supervisor Mr. William Bauer confirms that in his role he can observe the elimination of “hot spots where accidents occurred” over the years.  From his perspective this is a compromise between the city and school to improve student safety.

Bauer noted that although less free parking exists based on proximity,  “free parking exists if students are willing to walk.”

However, not everyone is pleased with the new situation. Sophomore Grace Look is unhappy with the new lot because “students are now paying $15 to part significantly farther away in a far more congested area,” especially since parking used to be free much closer to the only door that is open all throughout the school day.

Look also feels that the details of the new parking lot were not communicated in the best way, especially since students were given only  “a week’s notice” of the change.