Etowah has both the best and worst parking set up. Although there are lots of spaces available to students with plenty of room that comfortably fits most average-sized cars, just like every parking lot, it has its good and bad days.  

“I think driving can be complicated, but that is only because most are new drivers, and school parking lots are naturally busy,” Alexis Richardson, sophomore, said. 

A right-of-passage for driving on campus is getting stuck in Junior Lot. Some students love the angled spots in Junior Lot that makes parking easier for the new on-campus drivers or the fact that the lot is between both Main and East campuses. In the morning, it is one of the best lots to park in because of its proximity to class, but the afternoon is a different story. With the parking lot having only one road going in and out, it is almost impossible to leave on time some days. Hundreds of cars trying to leave causes bumper-to-bumper traffic and blocks people in their spots until the last car is gone, which is an even longer wait due to bus release. All parking lots are stopped to let the fleet of buses dismiss that moves like snails because of the short green light time at the main intersection. Not only is traffic unruly after the release bell, but the back of the lot becomes a swimming pool on rainy days due to the downward slope in the last few spots. 

”Many car accidents happen [in] a week because people are walking or not paying attention, and if you are in the very back or very front, no one lets you go, and you are stuck till everyone leaves,” Reese Nickels, junior, said 

The Senior Lot has more rows than Junior Lot and is easier to leave, but every student who rides the bus that has their last class at Etowah East walks through the lot to leave. In the afternoons, some parents stall in the front, blocking cars from getting out as they wait. For some dual enrollment students and students who park in the front of the school, parents tend to find their spaces more appealing than the visitor spots. Sometimes it is a quick fix, but other times, students are late to class because they cannot park anywhere. Many students with parking spots understand and take their time leaving because of stray cars and students migrating through. The mornings are not as bad because the parent drop-off line is by the Junior Lot, but students still walk through spaces and pop out from behind parked cars. 

 “Whenever I come to school in the morning, I constantly have to sit idle while I wait for kids walking in the middle of the parking lot instead of the sidewalk. It slows down my drive home and puts them in danger,” Carson Allen, senior, said. 

The Etowah East or Sophomore Lot is lesser known for traffic issues, but its entrance and exit is difficult due to its location. Getting into the lot from any direction except from the main intersection is impossible because it would mean illegally crossing a double-yellow line to turn into it. The same complexity is true for exiting; the driver must go back towards E.T Booth and drive down the bus lanes to finally make it to the main road at the Bruster’s Intersection. 

“Traffic would not be so bad if there were not people trying to leave through the lane used to get in the parking lot,” Seth Eye, senior, said. 

During finals week, driving at Etowah gets even messier. However, traffic will always be a problem that no one can really fix. The best way to avoid an accident is to get to school earlier in the morning and to be patient in the afternoon as everyone departs.