Many juniors and seniors at Arrowhead drive to school everyday, evident by the constantly full parking lots. With so many cars in the parking lots, driving conditions can get dangerous.

Arrowhead junior Elly Smith-Skwierawski manages to avoid the before-school traffic because she gets to school at around 7:00 am, which she says is earlier than most other students.

“I never have trouble finding a spot [to park] because people normally don’t get here until 7:10, so there’s plenty of spaces open,” says Smith-Skwierawski.

Not long after Smith-Skwierawski parks, she says the parking lot begins to fill quickly.

There are enough student drivers to warrant four parking lots: the main lot and the West Gym lot in front of North Campus, the Mullet-Center parking, and the Autos lot.

A parking lot is also available for teachers at North Campus, which also has parking for the students with FSO (Flexible Scheduling Option) that are allowed to leave early or arrive late.

There are also lots for students and teachers who park at South Campus.

Arrowhead junior Julia Dambekaln says she gets to school around 7:00 am, so she doesn’t have trouble finding a parking spot. She says the real trouble starts when everyone is trying to leave school.

“It takes a while to get out of the parking lot, and to get out of the main parking lot there are four car lines and many cars like to barge [in front of other cars] out of the exit when it’s not their turn to,” says Dambekaln.

Because of this, Dambekaln says it can take her up to twenty minutes just to get out of the parking lot after school.

Some students say that the parking lot is a source of stress. There are some students who wait until after-school traffic has died down to attempt getting out of the hectic parking lots.

Other students rush out the doors immediately after school, whether they’re looking to get on the bus, in their car, or find a ride home from someone else.

“I almost got hit three times,” says Smith-Skwierawski.

Only one of these near-accidents would have been her own fault, says Smith-Skwierawski. She says she once almost hit her front, left bumper against another person’s car. Another time, Smith-Skwierawski says she was almost rear-ended.

But not all accidents involve two vehicles.

“The second time [I almost got hit], I was outside my car and someone almost hit me,” says Smith-Skwierawski.

Safety is definitely a concern in the Arrowhead parking lots, says Smith-Skwierawski.

“Many kids don’t know whose turn it is to make a turn into the lane to leave school. Also, kids tend to ignore the speed limit in the parking lot and floor it when it’s unnecessary,” says Smith-Skwierawski.

“Maybe have more exits out of the parking lots, especially the main one, than just the current few,” says Dambekaln.