Parking Lot Bingo
By Elena Guadagno
05/09/25
During school hours at Montpelier High School, you will hear principal Jason Gingold’s voice come on over the loudspeaker to list the license plate numbers of cars that are illegally parked in fire lanes or bus lanes, asking students and teachers to move them. This game of shame is creatively named “Car Bingo.” What is causing this issue, who is affected by it, and what can be done to fix it?
The problem, says Gingold, is that there simply aren’t enough spots for the amount of people in the school who are driving. The lot includes 148 spots, subtracting 6 school vehicles, 7 handicapped, 5 visitors, and 100 teachers, which leaves approximately 30 spots for students. When there aren’t enough parking spaces, students and staff are allowed to park in the lot at the Department of Labor, which is next to the school, although it requires a driver to go around the outside. Because students need to get to school on time, they sometimes park illegally in fire lanes and handicap spots.
“Parking is a privilege,” says Vivian Thomas, a senior. “But being late because there’s no parking should be an excuse, because there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Thomas says that this has been more problematic in the past couple years. “A lot of it is because sophomores are getting their licenses.” The license age is 16, and many of the upperclassmen drive to school. This is one of the main points that students make. [We can solve the problem by] “having spots specifically for juniors and seniors. They should get priority parking,” says Thomas.
Gingold speaks on this approach. “A senior said to me, ‘10th graders shouldn’t be allowed to park at school,’ and although that may be true, I remember when that student was a 10th grader, and they would have ignored that rule. So while I can understand that, I don’t know how fair it is.” Why should a senior who lives downtown be allowed to park when a sophomore who lives in Barre isn’t?
There are a few other solutions that are being talked about, one which would be building another parking lot. Gingold mostly takes this out of the picture. “There is no way to make everyone happy in this because we need those fields based upon middle school sports and a number of all sports that we have.” He also speaks on the climate change factor; an expensive parking lot in a floodplain is a risk, and one that the school and town may be hesitant to take. “We try to be a very environmentally conscious school, and then I wonder how many of us need to drive. Put our money where our mouth is. If we are concerned about climate change, we should walk and bike more.”
Gingold also acknowledges the fact that not all students are able to walk to school. “There’s been talk of a student carpool list, things like that.” He makes his final point with a friendly smile. “I think the biggest thing is if there are no spots, just go park in the department of labor and walk over. Don’t park illegally. It’s kinda simple.”
In conclusion, there are a few solutions to this problem. Building a second parking lot is currently out of the question, but there are other actions we can take as a school. Student carpooling, trying to get to school early enough to park at the Department of Labor, and possibly making the parking lot into an excuse for being late. With a little cooperation, it would be easy for us to put an end to Mr. Gingold’s Parking Lot Bingo.
Photo Credit: Tatum Kirtlink
Photo Credit: Tatum Kirtlink
Comic Credit: Veda Gahagan