Parking at Dunwoody High School is one of the hottest local topics I’ve seen in quite some time. I want to see if the Aha! Subscribers can help solve the problem. I’m not looking for rude comments…but rather real suggestions for ideas on how to improve the situation. I’ve included Dunwoody Talk’s opinion article about the issue and opened up the comments section of my website for you to add your ideas. Click here to leave your comment. I’m expecting a little snarkiness but please keep your comments constructive. I won’t approve anything inappropriate.
The issues: There is not enough parking at DHS for all of the parents, teachers, administration, visitors and students to park in the lot or on the streets outlining the school property. Cars are being parked all along Vanderlyn drive and on all the surrounding streets and cul-de-sacs. Some neighbors are frustrated, Vanderlyn parents have no where to park when picking up sick kids, students without parking passes are frustrated, etc. DHS has more students this year than normal and enrollment (along with the number of drivers) is expected to continue to increase. The DHS administration is aware of the problem and is working on solutions. Audra will pass along your suggestions to them.
Below is an informative (albeit snarky) Article by Dunwoody Talk Blog
Dunwoody High School does not have enough parking. It’s a supply/demand issue, and also a civics lesson as well. Perhaps the Academy of Finance or AP Psych can take on this case.
In summary, the school has more students, teachers/staff, volunteers, and visitors than previous years. And the number of parking spaces is less than prior to the school’s remodeling a couple years ago. As a result, DHS students are parking on residential streets (legally, and sometimes illegally), irritating some homeowners.
Vanderlyn parents have nowhere to park, nor do many visitors to DHS. We’ve heard that some Vandy Continue reading at the Dunwoody Talk Blogspot…
Why is the lot at the corner of Vermack and Vanderlyn drive never full? I always see Empty spaces there at all times of the day.
I have heard that some of the neighbors around DHS have been asked by students – if they would allow a student to park in their driveway…. maybe charge for parking?
Give parking preference or other reward to carpoolers, more sharing one spot more reward
Only let Juniors and Seniors in good standing with the school drive to school. Issue parking stickers that must be put on car to all kids who are authorized to drive.
Run a shuttle from GPC
I am a little surprised that you post that you want ‘no snarkiness’ in comments left and yet the link to the Dunwoody Talk Blogspot is one of the most snarky articles I have read in a very long time!!
I live on Vermack (not for much longer thank goodness, we are moving and getting away from this whole mess). I have noticed that students are now parking in side streets (including Parliament Drive which makes a narrow side street even narrower).
My main complaint is about cars parking in front of the fire hydrant on Vermack (even though it is striped for no parking, I still see cars parked in front of it every couple of days) and those parents who think it is ok to stop on Vermack and put their hazard lights on in the morning and afternoon and drop their kids off. This is more of a problem in the afternoon. Parents even park on Vermack and wait for their children thus blocking the road. When you ask them to move, well actually don’t ask them to move because you will be screamed at and called every nasty name that comes to mind. I have even had a parent park in my driveway and walk their child to DHS!!
As I said I am glad to be getting away from all of this!!
Just a side note. There is not a guy that directs traffic at Vanderlyn and Vermack in the morning. There is a guy who directs traffic in the morning at Hensley and Vanderlyn. I believe he also acts as a crossing guard.
The same guy in the afternoon stops all traffic on Vermack to let the buses out of DHS which I think is a great idea.
At schools where I’m from in nc the spots are numbered. Seniors are given spots first and numbered accordingly. Then spots are reserved for volunteers. And there is a lottery of sorts for remaining spots for juniors. It doesn’t solve the issue of amount but helps seniors and volunteers
The simple solution is to cover the retention pond and create additional spots there. I’m not sure what the school admin is doing to solve the problem – haven’t seen or heard anything from them.
My high school had the same problem. Priority parking passes were given to seniors, then Juniors could apply — things like extracurricular activities, sports, grades and teacher recs would help — once all spaces were assigned by space #, the remaining juniors were on a wait list. Lots of people who lived near the school would “rent” a space in their driveway. I was able to park and paid someone $15-20 a month for letting me park in their driveway, my Soph and Jr year.
Could they pave over part of the retention pond and create spots? How about a parking deck?
I agree with John Henegan — cover the retention pond! And/or see if the spaces on Vermack can be turned into perpendicular spaces, rather than parallel spaces. It is a real problem that is causing a lot of kids to be late EVERY day to school ;-[
Parking could only be allowed for Juniors and Seniors with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Could the students park at St. Luke’s Church for the time being? Yes, it is a bit of a walk but it is open and available during the day.
Once these kids go to college, they will be walking to and from a parking lot forever! Perhaps even riding a bus to get to their car. They can start “practicing” that walk early!
I believe consistent carpools should get 1st priority. Special circumstances, volunteers, seniors by gpa, down the line. The students will live and park by rules in college.
When I lived in the sorority house, your room was determined by #hours completed and gpa. I know people will complain but it is a quick and easy method to solve a large problem.
Thank you!
Covering the detention pond is a good long-term solution, but will require extensive cost and permitting. I doubt Dunwoody HS’s parking problem is a priority for DeKalb County Schools. We also need a short-term solution. I’m not sure how the parking spaces are given out, but I heard only seniors were able to get them this year and even then they ran out. However, the parking lot closest to the detention pond is USUALLY ALMOST EMPTY. Why?
I feel bad for the high school students that are arriving at 7:30 am to park on the surrounding streets and then sitting in their cars (mostly with the motors running polluting the air) just so they can get a spot. These students are just as entitled to park legally anywhere around the school as anyone else, but they are taking up spaces need for the elementary school and parking in residential areas that really shouldn’t have cars on the streets.
Would numbering the parking spaces help? The faculty lot (nearest the auditorium) usually have some empty spaces. It seems like that numbering the spaces, and issuing permits in blocks (for example: permit A = allowed to park in spaces 1-100). Permits could be oversold by a small percentage so the lots are fully taken advantage of.
Also, MOVE THE STORAGE pod near the auditorium! Put it on the grass; that frees up two precious spaces. Every little bit helps.
I think that DHS should utilize the parking at GSU (Former GPC). There is a large parking lot, probably at least the size of DHS’s total lot space, if not bigger. The lot is partially gravel, partially paved. It is located in the northwest corner of the GSU campus, and there is a separate entrance for it from Womack drive. (The lot is shaped like an L inside another L)
If I am not mistaken, that area with the large lot used to be Dekalb High School of Technology-North, a DeKalb County Schools property. I think that the county has sold the property to GSU by now, but if not that would make my idea even easier.
My idea: Let DHS students park at GSU, and probably have a shuttle in the morning just before school and just after school to transport students to the lot. As a student at DHS, I see buses in the morning that sit parked in the bus lane in front of DHS for several minutes in the morning. These buses could go to the GSU lot and every 5 or 10 minutes from 7:30 to 8:00, bring students to DHS and drop students back at the lot immediately after school. People with afterschool activities could ride the shuttle to the lot and bring their cars back to Dunwoody after school is over to drive home after their activities.
This lot could either be treated like the street parking spots, or they could be spots that require a permit, but seniors would get priority over the lot at DHS. (Maybe make a second type of pass only valid for the lot at GSU?) Regardless of the approach, this would likely double the parking available for DHS students. I may be wrong, but I don’t think that GSU uses all of their parking lots.
This is a serious suggestion that could quickly create new parking spots, and I think it should be looked into by the administration at DHS. If anyone has comments, they can reply to this post.
We don’t attend Dunwoody but at north springs it is seniors first and then a lottery for all younger classes. Keeps it fair.
It seems to me that the parking issue, is the number of kids who don’t have parking passes and drive to school and use street parking. You cannot limit that by grade or GPA since it is public parking. Obviously if there are more spots on campus that would help, but that requires Dekalb County schools to provide financing and who knows if that will happen.
I think the idea of changing the street spaces from parallel to perpendicular or angled spaces has a lot of merit and would increase capacity.
Encourage alternative transportation to ALL students/staff. Add numerous bike racks. Award “Environmental Credits” to those that walk/ bike/ carpool/ride bus. Discuss school-wide in your science classes. Create an monetary incentive – one sponsored by local businesses – for environmental credits. I think you could reduce the size of the retention pond but that is a civil engineering issue and one is typically required adjacent to the parking lot & high school. Maybe, additional spots with pervious pavers would offset the size of the pond. I agree about the aforementioned shuttle to GPC – great idea. A lottery for student parking spots is also fair. Alternative transportation is a worthwhile credit according to the U.S. Green Building Council (see usgbc.org).
(sent photo of Vanderlyn parent unloading stroller in DHS parking lot to walk older child to Vanderlyn blocking DHS parking lot while many students were arriving early and trying to park for FCA) I see this every day, Vanderlyn parents who don’t want to wait in carpool, or CHEAT on WALK to school day so they just park at DHS and walk their child to school. They pull out just after the bell rings. Would love to see some school personnel patrolling the parking lots. The students at DHS are often made out to be a nuisance with the parking, but these adults need to be held accountable. This has been going on since 2013.
The Vanderlyn principal called DHS to announce they were towing high school cars from their lot “because their parents need space to park”. And the elementary parents park by the auditorium all the time. We try to teach the kids to do the right thing and the adults (some) don’t follow.
Carpooling is a great idea to utilize spaces at the high school. I know it can be a hassle, but it would utilize the parking spots and we have a shortage of spots. I also think parking passes should not be issues to kids who live within at a minimum a quarter of a mile radius. I live behind the high school and my son will eventually get a car, but will not drive it to school when we have a 5 minute walk at best. Save the spots for kids who live outside a reasonable walking zone. On a side note, if there are truly empty spots not being utilized – that’s just ridiculous and should be addressed immediately.
My high school had so few spots that seniors had to carpool to share assigned parking spaces. No juniors were allowed to park at all and no non-carpool seniors.
A radical but sensible solution to the parking problem (and solving many other problems in the process) is to switch Dunwoody High and Peachtree Middle schools. Dunwoody High’s plot of land is relatively small, leaving little room for expansion of classrooms, parking, athletic facilities. Peachtree Middle’s campus on the other hand appears to have a lot more opportunities. Move Dunwoody High, expand the building, expand the athletic fields to work for Dunwoody Seniors ball, expand parking, etc. Having the middle school in the heart of Dunwoody gives a little more protection than they have today as well as creating a lot less traffic due to limited number of licensed drivers.
Many students legally cannot carpool due to their restricted licenses. In the first six months, they cannot drive anyone except family members, and they may only drive one person outside their family for the next six months.
I think it is great that there are no parking zones near pull outs but some of them are quite long and a few spaces could be gained if they were repainted. As a side note, I would hate to see all of the beautiful trees cut down for parking. I would rather kids walk, ride bikes, take the bus or get rides from parents or others. When I was growing up, parking was a senior privilege only.
I think that we can maybe have reserved spots. Maybe letting the students have a sign on the front with their name.