Parking. A word that now makes the students of Timpview cringe at the sound. Last year’s parking situation was a luxury, and we took it for granted. While many students once thought having to park up at the Range was a chore, but that’s really nothing compared to what we have to deal with this year. 

With the reconstruction of Timpview, the north parking lot was taken out, because the school will be expanding in that direction. Students of Timpview who drive to school are now having to park along Timpview Drive, the church south of the school, and the streets neighboring the school. This isn’t an easy task for a busy high school student– it involves walking blocks to get to class, practically fighting for spots, and getting tickets in the process. Almost hundreds of students have been ticketed already this school year, and it is only first term. Many students believe that a new parking lot should have been the priority of the construction, while many teachers believe that this perhaps isn’t a very serious issue. That being said, our journalism team interviewed a student who got a ticket and a faculty member about their opinions on the parking fiascos we have had this year. 

Tom Fell, the Dean at Timpview, was asked his thoughts on the parking situation, specifically about how a number of students have voiced the opinion that Provo City needs to ease up on giving tickets. His response was, “This is a matter for the city. The city is only ticketing vehicles that are parked illegally. There is a lot of unused parking at the church which the school district successfully secured for students to park in.” Fell makes a fair point; the school did sell parking passes for the church a block south of the school, which always has many open spots to park in. However, it is easier to find a spot along Timpview or the streets close by, especially with a tight tardy policy and temperatures dropping. 

At one point, there was talk about a new parking lot that was going to be built above the tennis courts. But, it would have been incredibly expensive for a temporary parking lot, since reconstruction would’ve caused it to be torn down in just a few years. The idea was shot down fairly quickly.

Etano Foster, a senior at Timpview was also interviewed on his experience of being ticketed due to the issues of parking. We asked what he thought the school should do about the tickets that are being given to the students. He felt that “the school needs to pay for our tickets because we didn’t choose to park on the road. It’s not our fault. I feel like Provo City needs to understand the circumstances we are in.” Foster also believes that the “neighbors need to be patient” and need to “stop telling on us and getting mad if we park in front of their house.” Many students share similar qualms, suggesting that the school should be paying for tickets handed out to the students. 

Students also have been feeling very frustrated with the fact that Timpview and Provo City continue to limit our parking. They have added 2 new drop off zones, with signs that read, “Any parked vehicles will be towed.” Just last week they restricted the entire hill of Quail, putting “No parking” signs with just the school hours beneath, as well as “No student parking.” With parking already being an issue prior to these additions, one can imagine how frustrated the students are feeling now.

Parking remains a controversial topic between students and teachers at Timpview. We are hopeful that with some compromise, we’ll be able to figure out a solution to the parking problem and make peace between all the voices involved– a solution that ideally includes a better alternative for ticket-receiving, tardy students.