High school students across Wake County and at Green Hope utilize large parking lots daily due to their convenience. However, navigating the pros and cons to parking on-campus at Green Hope can be a difficult process, especially when there is a monetary cost to consider.
The standard parking spot price in Wake County is $50 per quarter, or $200 for an entire school year. With over 400 parking spots, Green Hope has the potential to generate approximately $80,000 in annual revenue simply from parking spaces.
Students are willing to pay this fee: The parking lot became full halfway through the third quarter in the 2022-23 school year, leaving those who earned their licenses afterwards unable to park at school.
To be approved for a parking space, students must fill out an online application, which requires proof of a vehicle, at least a level 2 license (which allows teens to drive unsupervised) and insurance. Only upon receiving email confirmation that the application was approved are students allowed to pay. Once administration receives the payment, students are allowed to pick up their passes.
The majority of parking spaces are filled in the summer before school starts. Administration prioritizes upperclassmen in the approval process, especially seniors. In the weeks leading up to school, the school dedicates one day where only seniors are permitted to come and pick up their parking pass and off-campus pass if they have already paid and been approved through the online application. Pass pick-up opens up for juniors the following day. Any remaining days before the start of the school year are then open to all other students approved through the application process. Sophomores who have received their level 2 license are eligible to receive a pass as well.
The GH Falcon spoke with Green Hope junior Jake Stone (‘25) about his thoughts on campus parking.
Stone favored on-campus parking to other transportation options. “Being able to drive makes it much easier to get to first period on time, and it also saves someone [else] some gas if they don’t have to drive me,” Stone said.
Parking space selection is on a first come, first serve basis. With the size of the parking lot, where students park can make a difference in how early they must arrive to not be late for their classes. For Stone, however, location was not a huge problem. He said, “My space is pretty much in the middle of the parking lot so it’s easy to get to and from the school.”
One of the biggest concerns of parking at the school is the high concentration of young drivers. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drivers aged 16-19 have a fatal crash rate per mile almost three times higher than drivers aged 20 and older. Fender benders in the parking lot are not uncommon and neither are crashes in the rush to leave school during lunch and at the end of the school day.
While the crashes did concern him, Stone believed the benefits of campus parking outweigh the risks. “There have been crashes pretty often near and around Green Hope with students so sometimes I’m scared another student will crash into me but other than that I feel pretty safe,” he said.
Parking passes at Green Hope continue to be in high demand, and the lot fills up as students receive their licenses and apply for passes throughout the school year.
