North expanded its number of parking spaces to meet the new demands of its students.

In an increase from 676 spots last year, North has opened up 57 new spots in the faculty lot for seniors and juniors to park in order to allow more students to be able to drive to school.

Winning the raffle in last year’s Road to Reality, senior Kayla Hlavacek parks in spot number one free of charge. The rest of the seniors and juniors had to wait in line with a fee of $100.

“[Seniors] started camping outside at 7 a.m. on August 8. We had 396 seniors come to buy their passes, and if we hadn’t opened up those new spots, we would’ve had to send juniors home,” Assistant Principal Darnell Weathersby said.

Owning one of these new spots brings more responsibility to its student owner. Drivers must now keep their cars parked in the lot until 2:30 for safety due to the buses within the same lot. Additionally, students must stay on the sidewalk and avoid loitering in the lot.

“So far, students have gone above and beyond to follow these rules and I’m excited to see how this continues,” Weathersby said.

Students have responded well to their newly added spots. North drivers believe that the school required the expansion.

“It was a good idea from the school. We needed somewhere to park, and it’s a lot less people walking five minutes from their car to class,” senior Shacara Adams said.

North has no future plans to build a larger parking lot. This requires school faculty members to have patience with their newly shared parking lot. Likewise, teachers find the new student spots to be an idea that can be improved.

“I feel they need to expand the lots and keep watch over the student drivers. Traffic on 119^th street is always backed up and somebody is going to get hit,” Testing Center supervisor Sara Sellars said.

North’s newly acquired student parking spots have caused major jams in the streets leading to and from the campus with the many staff and additional students.

“To curb the congestion, stop signs were placed and we have staff in the morning to direct traffic. One of the big things we have done is requiring parents to pick up their kids in the front lot instead of the back,” dean Brad Shinovich said.

Overall, the administration is proud to have their students arrive to school on time. Despite the numerous traffic jams and patience from drivers, North believes this expanded lot to be the best action to take.

“This seems to be going well and I’m excited to see if this can be repeated next year,” Weathersby said.