Jupiter High’s parking situation is crowded. However, over the summer, the school added a new parking lot in the area formerly used as a practice field for soccer, football and lacrosse.  

Joe Lang, Jupiter High’s Assistant Principal in charge of parking at the school, said Jupiter has been trying to get a new parking area for students for about ten years.

“The amount of students that meet the requirements to park were far more than spots available,” Lang said.  

After nearly a decade, the Palm Beach County School District approved and funded the new parking lot at the end of last school year. With the added space, the school now has almost 600 spots. 

Students are excited about the new lot because it allows them extra spots to park, something underclassmen look forward to when they finally get their driver’s license.

“I think it will affect drivers in a positive way as it won’t be as much of a struggle to get a spot when everybody’s applying towards the end of the year,” Kaysa Flemk-Joli, Jupiter High senior, said. 

With over 1,000 students vying for a parking spot, the addition of extra spaces was a welcome improvement to the parking situation.

“It was a real struggle before for a lot of students to be able to get a parking spot, so it’s really awesome that they built a new one to provide spots for a lot more students than before,” Ava Dinow, Jupiter High senior, said.

Dinow has been participating in distance learning but is planning to return to campus. However, for those who won’t be returning this school year, eventually, their spot will be given to other students who plan to return to brick-and-mortar.

Although the due date for purchasing a parking spot has passed, students are eligible for a spot on the waiting list, according to Lang. Students can access the sign-up sheet on Jupiter High’s website, www.jupiterhighschool.org, by searching “parking.”