Leaving school every day should not be a gamble for your safety. However, in reality, it is. 

Students and even some faculty who park in the Cardinal lot on 10th Street often have a difficult time judging when it is safe to pull out of the lot. This is because cars park alongside the street next to the lot’s exit, making it very hard to see approaching cars. 

Every day, when I leave the lot after school, I worry that when I pull out, thinking it’s safe, a car will be speeding towards me from the left side. Across the street from the exit, there is a no-left turn sign, probably to try to make the exit safer. However, even just making a right turn is difficult. Cars parked all along the street completely obscure your line of vision. Cars should not be allowed to park so close to the entrance to ensure a safe exit from the lot. 

These feelings of anxiety, though they may seem irrational, are warranted. Multiple Midtown students have gotten into accidents while pulling out of the upper lot. 

Senior Jenna Ragan was pulling out of the lot one day after school when she, unfortunately, crashed into another car. Even though she waited until the Charles Allen Drive and 10th Street light turned red as a precaution, she still could not avoid an accident. She described pulling out of the lot as, “taking a guess if somebody’s coming,” and that’s exactly what it is, a guess. 

I have also been in a similar situation, but I managed to narrowly avoid an accident. My vision was obscured by cars parked along the street, and I pulled out of the lot when I thought no one was coming. However, a car was approaching, and I had to slam on my breaks to avoid it. I was lucky, but other Midtown students haven’t been as lucky.

Ragan says pulling out of the lot has become even more “nerve wracking” following her accident and accidents involving two of her friends. Leaving school every day should not be an anxiety-inducing and dangerous ordeal. This issue is not unique to just the upper lot; the lower lot on 10th Street is also difficult to exit from as cars are approaching from both sides, though less so than the upper lot. 

This issue has gone on for too long and needs immediate addressing. There are a few possible solutions: the school can either put up a sign or somehow block off the street close to the exit so cars can’t park there. Or, as Ragan suggested, put up a convex mirror across the street so people pulling out of the lot can see approaching cars. Even something as simple as a mirror would help to ease student anxiety and make pulling out of the lot a less dangerous experience. 

The school should consider these options when deciding how to solve the issue. No matter what the school chooses to do, taking any sort of action will help make the everyday experience of pulling out of the upper lot a much safer one. Students should not have to continue to worry about their safety when exiting school.