teens & parking

[lmelina@moscow.com (Lois Melina)]

Hello.

Teens are not, like, clogging up the parking around the high school because
there is inadequate bus service. That is so totally untrue.

Teens are driving to high school because cars are a symbol of independence
and maturity and teens desperately want to show their autonomy. Furthermore,
MHS is an open campus and teens want their wheels close by so that they can
take off for lunch at McD's or Arby's, and sometimes to just take off in the
middle of the day. I think the problem of teen parking around the high
school, whether seen as a parking issue or an environmental issue, is going
to have to take into account what teenagers are really like.

I thought about suggesting two hour parking around the high school, but then
I could see teens sprinting out between classes and fender benders galore as
they switched parking spots with their friends. Perhaps there could be
restricted street parking on the streets around the high school, courthouse,
city hall, and upcoming community center with parking by permit only with
the money generated being used to expand public transportation.

Perhaps we ought to target adults for reduced auto use and let the teen
thing go for a while, hoping that if teens have good adult role models they
will take on that behavior after they've gotten through this independence thing.

Lois Melina
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Lois Melina
Editor, "Adopted Child" newsletter
P.O. Box 9362
Moscow ID 83843

phone: (208)882-1794
fax: (208)883-8035
Lmelina@moscow.com
www.raisingadoptedchildren.com