Student parking at Grand Junction High School has continued to plague both students and parents on the new campus.
The issue of student parking was supposed to be resolved as of the 2024-2025 school year, along with the completion of the new $144.5 million building. With construction and demolition still going on around the building, the issue seems to be as prevalent as ever.
“Parking in the morning is way too stressful, it’s almost impossible to find a spot even if you show up crazy early,” said GJHS junior Joie Pineda.
Last school year, the issue became a popular topic among the GJHS community and surrounding businesses due to the restrictions caused by construction of the new campus.
This school year, GJHS has a record-breaking number of students, now sitting at nearly 1,800 — about 200 more than the previous year.
“We’re currently sitting at about 208 student parking spaces, which is significantly more than last year. Although with the increase in students, it isn’t doing us much good. The rest of the new parking lot will be completed along with the demolition of the old auditorium later this fall, getting us up to more than 400 student parking spaces,” said GJHS Assistant Principal Josh Warinner.
In the past, students have resorted to parking off campus, causing issues for surrounding businesses.
This year, most students having trouble finding parking have resorted to neighborhood streets and the nearby Sherwood Park. The First Congregational United Church of Christ, across the street from GJHS, has also begun issuing warnings and towing unauthorized vehicles parked on the premises.
Besides the issue of limited parking, increased traffic congestion has also proved a problem for students and parents. The wait to get in and out of the student parking lot, which is attached to the parent dropoff area, has become as congested as ever, taking up to 45 minutes to an hour to exit a parking spot in extreme cases.
“I don’t even try to find an actual parking spot anymore, the one time I did it took almost 40 minutes to get out of the parking lot after school, so I just park on the street most days to avoid the traffic now,” said GJHS senior Oliver Jenkel.
The designated staff parking lot is located at the back of the building, with a separate entrance and exit than the student parking lot.
