Newly returned Lane students can expect two things when getting to school: walking and waiting. Addison, Western and Rockwell, the major thoroughfares which service Lane, are filled to capacity just before and after school starts. However, the difficulties and delays are working to be resolved. 

For student Emily Pawelko, Div. 259, the delays have meant leaving the parking lot much later than would be expected after the end of the school day at 3:15 p.m. 

“After school though, it is horrendous. The first 2 days of school, I was in the parking lot for 45 minutes and still stopped. I got to my car at about 3:25 both days,” Pawelko wrote in an email to the Champion. “There were SO many parents in the most random corners of the parking lot causing a backlog. The parents got their kid in the car and instantly wanted to leave the lot, squeezing, pushing and passing through. There were quite a few instances where cars almost hit each other.”  

 The difficulties seem to extend all the way to Addison, affecting the public transportation used to transport many students to school.

“On Addison there are so many parents dropping their kids off, I have noticed that they drive until the light turns red and then the student just hops out of the car,” Pawelko wrote.

Rockwell, the street separating Lane from Clark Park, is “even worse,” according to Pawelko.

“I went to Rockwell, which was a huge mistake . Same situation with parent and student drivers and Lane students crossing the street,” Pawelko wrote. 

However, the situation does seem to be a focus of resolution due to Mr. Smith, head of security, wearing a bright yellow vest and directing traffic. 

“He keeps parents out of the lot and guides cars out of the parking lot. With his help, I was out of the parking lot in 15 minutes yesterday [September 2nd],” Pawelko wrote. 

As students rush to class in the morning, congestion gets worse, according to Smith.

“Our hardest part is in the morning, because I need people at doors getting students in, and sometimes the parking lot,” Smith said. “We do have somebody out there [in the parking lot], but we don’t have enough people out there. And I’m trying to fix that. But it’s a work in progress.”

A reason for the pileup could be the fact that no underclassmen have been in the building before. 

“We’ve had, I think, three to four classes that’s never been at Lane Tech. I think slowly but surely, that’s going to stop, it’s not going to be as many people in the parking lot. I think parents are not going to be dropping off their kids as much,” Smith said.

For students, the best practice is mainly to stay alert and aware of the cars in the lot. 

“To me, the best practice would be to really just please pay attention to where you’re going, that would help the most. I mean, try not to walk in front of cars,” Smith said. 

For parents, Smith has another suggestion: getting off the major streets would be extremely helpful.

“For parents my suggestion would be maybe drop them off, block away, half block away. And then that would clear out a lot of congestion,” Smith said.  

Overall, the situation seems to be trending positively. With new students learning the school and old ones remembering what they once knew, the congestion problems should disappear, according to Smith. 

“We’ll figure this out. I mean, we got our heads together, and we’ll figure out what’s going on in the parking lot. But I think by October, November, I don’t think it really will even be an issue. That’s just my personal take on it,” Smith said.