Motorists who intend to visit T.C. Williams High School might want to consider public transportation, unless they plan to wear walking shoes. Finding a parking space in the front lot of the school is next to impossible, and the sight of double-parked cars is a daily occurrence.
Cars circle the lot looking for parking spaces like sharks in search of blood. Cell phone numbers are hastily written on scraps of paper and placed on dashboards. "Please don't tow me," one implored. Visitors are having a difficult time finding parking because the spaces close to the building have been reduced as part of an effort to build a new school. Parking is tight, and visitors have become restless.
"It's horrible. This is the first time I've had to double park in the 40 years I've been driving," said Len Senia, who was visiting the school to meet with one of his son's teachers. "But the school was nice enough to give me a parking permit."
ACCORDING TO PRINCIPAL John Porter, the school has lost two large parking lots and one small parking lot because of construction. But one new parking lot has been added, and parking is available on nearby Chinquapin Drive.
"The school has actually gained parking spaces during the construction process," said Porter, noting that the new parking lot has 156 spaces. "But a number of those spaces are further removed from the school."
Porter says that the school now has a total of 387 parking spaces, with 241 spaces available on campus. One reason that the front parking lot is so crowded, he says, is that many motorists don't know about the parking spaces available behind the school and on Chinquapin Drive.
"I've never had a problem parking because I park out back," said substitute teacher Anne Sharland. Other staff, such as English and journalism teacher Mary Lou Smith, get to school as early as 6:30 a.m. to avoid the hassle of trying to find parking. "I don't have a problem with parking because I get here to so early," said Smith. "I would prefer to get here early and beat the traffic."
THE LOGISTICS of closing old parking spaces and creating new ones has created a need for thinking outside the box, which, in this case, is the T.C. Williams campus.
"We've had to get creative," said Porter, referring to an agreement with an adjacent apartment complex that agreed to let school staff park in its parking lot during the day. "We appreciate everybody's patience while we are in the construction process."