Every winter, icy parking lots transform from convenient spaces into treacherous terrains, posing significant risks to both students, teachers, and vehicles. As temperatures drop and snow melts and refreezes, getting through these frozen conditions becomes a daunting task. In this article, we delve into the dangers of icy parking lots and explore solutions to solve this dangerous problem.
The question at hand is why doesn’t the school lay down salt in the parking lots? Is it that difficult to attempt to keep the kids safe? It’s not even the kids, but the faculty itself. After doing some research, I found that this isn’t a problem just at Hall High School. It’s a problem experienced by many public schools across the country. According to a news story posted on the website of a high school in Ohio, “People could argue that since winter is so long, there is plenty of time to lay down salt on the parking lots, but the problem may be because the most convenient time to de-ice parking lots would be during the school hours. But, if the lot is full of student’s cars, it would not be effective to put down salt.”
This answered the why question. But is it still so difficult to find a different solution? I decided to get a different perspective, and interview a faculty member. “I was walking into school one day, and saw a student holding some sort of project, a science project maybe,” said Psychology teacher Justin Boucher of his experiences with the icy parking lots at school. “[The student] slipped and fell straight on the ground floor. I thought it was hilarious, but his project got completely ruined. Naturally, that made me feel bad for the kid,” Boucher went on to explain.
The recurring theme of slipping, and people getting hurt was getting old. I looked into different solutions. According to “School Safety Starts with You.” EMC Insurance Companies, 2016, “Place shovels and ice melt near doorways to facilitate snow and ice removal during the day. When daytime temperatures reach the 40s and 50s, layers of ice will form when melted snow refreezes after sundown. When removing snow, pile it in a way that prevents melting into walkways and parking lots. Applying coarse sand or oil absorbent to wet areas can also help.” This was only one of many solutions I found. Hall High school needs to find ways to keep the parking lots clean in the winter. For the safety of both students and faculty members.
