Student parking at Apex High is getting out of hand. In the first few weeks alone, there have already been a handful of students involved in accidents. I interviewed Mr. Zies on the rules and procedures students need to be following at all times.

Whenever entering and exiting the parking deck, students should “follow the arrows” and, “take it slow and be safe.” This seems like common sense; however, many students can’t seem to follow these basic ideas. In addition to these rules, students should follow the directions of Mr. Brown and any officer above any other traffic regulations. Usually, the officer will direct all traffic to turn right out of the parking lot. Unless of course, there is an emergency or accident. For example, two accidents involving rear-end collisions have already occurred while turning right onto Laura Duncan.

If you are involved in an accident on campus, you need to reach out to the school resource officer or an admin who will help you navigate the situation. In addition to doing that, it is wise to take pictures of the incident including damage, plate number, driver’s license, and insurance. However, you should move your cars out of the way so other people can navigate out of the parking lot.

If you are involved in an accident off campus, you need to call the police department and take pictures of the same important information above.

But, what if there is damage to your car in the parking lot, and you don’t know who hit you? The first thing you should do is get in contact with the school resource officer or a school administrator. They will have access to the cameras in the parking lot and can help you through the situation.

You might be wondering why the Apex parking lot is so chaotic. The reason the lot is so crazy is that Apex is one of the two schools in the district that have a parking deck. In addition, Apex has one of the smallest footprint sizes in the district, which is why a parking deck was necessary in the first place. 

Unfortunately, our parking lot isn’t getting any bigger — unlike the freshman class size.