There is one question that seniors despise hearing at 3 pm: “Can you drive me to Vista?” For most juniors, getting your license is a big accomplishment. After months of practice, you finally have the freedom to drive wherever you want.

While driving to school might seem like a simple task, this is far from the truth. The limited space on campus means that juniors are not allowed to park on campus from 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. They must park at Vista Community Park, 1.5 miles away. According to Google Maps, this is a 5-minute drive. From my personal experience, it is a 25-minute and 16-second walk from the Be Kind Plaza to my car. 

This is the second year of having a bus service from Vista to school. Before, juniors would have to ask seniors to drive them in the morning. The implementation of the bus service last year caused some challenges for juniors who needed to get to campus. However, this system is much better than relying on a senior to drive in the morning. 

While this privilege should not be taken for granted, most juniors who park at Vista say it is a flawed and complex process. At times, it can be challenging to coordinate getting to school and leaving school.

To obtain a spot at Vista, there is a lottery that happens over the summer. Students must go to the New York Parks and Recreation office, and put their name down for a permit. Next, students must work with B&B Transportation to purchase bus transportation to and from the Vista lot. In all, a parking spot at Vista for one year costs $1,600. However, students who are New York residents can park for free with their New York license plates, and they only have to pay for the bus service. If someone parks at the lot without a permit, Nano Saulnier, Director of Campus Safety and Events, says they will receive a ticket. However, she has not seen this rule enforced to date. 

The morning commute from Vista to school is straightforward: The bus leaves at 8:45 a.m. No earlier, no later (except if you are running 1-2 minutes late, the bus driver will wait). While 8:45 is a convenient time, this means juniors who park at Vista lose valuable time in the morning to meet with teachers. Hugh Demark ‘25, who parks at Vista every day, said in an interview, “There have been times where I can’t meet with teachers, as their only available time is the morning, and their schedule does not coordinate with mine”. While St. Luke’s encourages students to meet with teachers, it can be a challenge to have a schedule that lines up with every teacher. If your free period is not the same as theirs, most likely the only time when they are available is in the morning. 

One solution that some juniors thought would work would be to have an early morning bus once or a few times a week, in addition to the 8:45 AM bus.  During my interview with Saulnier, I asked about possibly having an early morning bus. Saulnier said, “Unfortunately, we are limited as we are using the bus service that we already have, and those buses that come in the morning are the same buses that bring kids in from other towns.” The buses that pick juniors up at Vista have already driven students to school from other towns. After those students are dropped off, the bus leaves school and goes to Vista. The same thing happens in the afternoon, where buses first drive to Vista at 3:30, then drive students elsewhere at 4:00 pm. Saulnier also said, “We are utilizing busses we already have, if we got an additional bus, the cost of an additional bus is $80,000. We try to partner with buses we already have to keep the price as low as possible for [parents].”

While the morning can sometimes be a challenge, the afternoon is the biggest difficulty of parking at Vista. It can be hard to coordinate with others as to how to get your car, especially if you have after-school activities that run at 3:30. This system is an improvement from last year, however, when the bus left at 4:30 and 6 pm.  Most juniors who have after-school activities rely on seniors to drive them to their cars either before or after their activity. However, this can sometimes not work. If a team has no seniors, or no seniors can drive, students must take a lap around school to find someone willing to drive. If they can’t find anyone, their only way to get their car is to walk 1.3 miles. 

Since (I’m assuming) nobody wants to walk, juniors tend to prioritize getting their car over their after-school activity. For example, Hugh Demark played on the JV Football team during the fall season. Demark said, “A lot of times later in the season, I would have to be late for practice or games because I needed to get my car and drive back…Once I was done with that, I needed to [get ready], and after that, I was 15-20 minutes late to practice every day.” This struggle is common for juniors, who have to decide whether or not to take punishments, whether it is a tardy or running laps, or getting their car. 

While a later bus would be nice to have, the traffic on North Wilton Rd. builds up around 3:45 p.m. This traffic means it is nearly impossible to get back on campus for another 20 minutes, even to get from the road to the bottom parking lot. If the bus were to leave at this time, it would take 30 minutes to get back to campus rather than 10 (for the full loop from school). This leaves a small margin of time when juniors can leave campus, get their cars, and drive back without much delay.

While it is only a 3-minute drive, it can be out of the way for many seniors who need to drive juniors. However, some seniors went through the same struggle last year, and are willing to pay it forward to the current juniors. 

While the system is flawed, juniors are still very happy to have a way to park near campus. In the future, the school hopes to build a new parking lot under the football field, allowing more students and teachers to park on campus. This parking lot will hopefully eliminate the need for parking at Vista, and eliminate the confusion of the after-school rush. Saulnier also said that she is open to feedback, and would love to know how the system could be improved further.