Sherwood Rolls Out New Parking Regulations

by Alex Braun ‘23

At the beginning of this year, Sherwood’s administration announced that students would need to turn in their applications in the first few weeks of the school year for an assigned parking spot. In past years there were no assigned spots, and students could park wherever they wanted which resulted in students who wanted a spot close to the exit arriving up to 30 minutes early to school.

Prior to this school year, students had to buy a pass to park in the Sherwood lots, but it was inconsistently enforced. Some students were able to make it the entire year without buying a parking pass and students with cars without passes were let off with a warning or $5 fine. Students mostly parked in the back lot, with some overflowing into the upper lot because of overcrowding. The lack of general order in the parking lots led to problems. Several hit and runs occurred, with an administrator being the victim at one point, and it was relatively easy to leave school without detection. Students have very little control over what spot they end up with, as the assignment system goes in numerical order. The first student to turn in their application got spot 1, the second got spot 2, ect. Some students were unhappy with this, especially those who had parked in the same general area for the past year and now have to park somewhere new, possibly in the back of the lot. Upon submitting their applications, students were handed their pass to be hung on their rearview mirror and a list of potential parking violations that include leaving school property before the end of the day, not parking in their assigned spot, and sitting in their car during lunch. Violators will receive a warning on their first violation. On their second and third violations, they will lose their permit for a week and then a month, respectively. On the fourth violation, students will lose parking privileges altogether.

In addition to assigned spots, the exit system from the parking lot at the end of the day has changed. For one, all rows of the lot are one-way, meaning students cannot exit towards the stop light from whatever row they are parked in. The first two rows closest to the tennis courts must go towards the practice fields in the back of the school and exit through the two rows closest to the baseball field. 

The regulations on parking extend to the way students and parents can exit the school at the end of the day. The lanes towards the traffic lights in front of Route 108 are now one way and, starting from as soon as students and parents exit the parking lot, the lanes are divided using cones into right and left turn lanes. Parents picking up their children can no longer enter at the light, and anyone leaving can no longer exit through the front lot.

Since the regulations began, all drivers have been able to notice the new flow of traffic and see the system in action. There is less traffic going around the circle, and at the light, traffic seems to move quicker. The administrators direct traffic at the end of the day and ensure that all cars can get out of the school without any accidents or delays.