Lack of parking spots
With a long winter filled with many snow storms, BHS students have struggled to find places to park at school.
No parking sign. BHS had put these signs up along 8th and 9th street to let people get through easier. Buses were complaining that they could not fit through the street in order to get into the North Parking Lot. “Last year we got a blizzard in April, and the snow melted pretty quickly afterwards.” BHS principal David Wisthoff said. “When you get a snowstorm in the first week of November it makes for a long year.”
March 1, 2023
Snow has been hitting Bismarck hard leading into 2023. The National Weather Service recorded over 20 inches in November and 18 inches in December. These snow storms have caused Bismarck to have a long winter.
Bismarck’s first snow storm hit in November. This snow storm was the first of many.
“This winter has been unique in the amount of snow we have got in November and December,” BHS principal David Wisthoff said. “We’ve lost a lot of parking spots due to the snow.”
BHS has a snow removal company that comes and clears the snow out. This company comes to BHS if the school has met the requirements of a certain amount of snow fallen in their parking lot.
“I think they’ve done a nice job of clearing snow so we can get back into school, and just having the snow we’ve had has made the removal difficult,” Wisthoff said. “They have large contracts with lots of places, but I appreciate the job they’ve done here.”
BHS has always struggled with finding room for students to park. The school is surrounded by neighborhoods.
“I would say we’re pretty capped out,” Wisthoff said.
As BHS keeps expanding, the parking spots have stayed the same. It is not expected to get much bigger in the future.
“We’re not going to get a whole lot bigger or we shouldn’t next year,” Wisthoff said. “We have 1396 kids right now and we will probably settle for the 1450 range so it’s not going to get a whole lot bigger.”
Students are not the only ones who have trouble finding spots to park. Staff also have problems trying to find room to park.
“It has gotten tighter, the snow and the ability to navigate the parking spots has made it tougher,” Wisthoff said.
Students have to leave home a little earlier to get to school and find parking spots. In the past, BHS has tried to find alternative solutions to the parking issues.
“There’s not really a good solution, we’ve had conversations about even adding a parking garage,” Wisthoff said. “They’re incredibly expensive and when you start thinking about high schoolers driving on free parking ramps, it’s scary, there’s a lot of things that could go on.”
