Parking Issues Arise Again At Concord High School

CONCORD, NH — It has been an issue for most of the 94 years that Concord High School has been in existence on Warren Street — what to do about student parking around the school.

With a good majority of the 1,600-plus students returning to in-person learning a few weeks ago and with hundreds of them having driver's licenses, the age-old problem of parking around the school has reared its ugly head again. So much so that school officials have issued repeated warnings to students and parents during the past two weeks.

Only seniors are allowed to park in designated areas with a valid parking pass in the large lot off Warren Street, according to Assistant Principal Jim Corkum. Vehicles "must have a visible parking pass," he said. Students can also park in the lot at Memorial Field on South Fruit Street. They can also park on any on-street parking that is allowed near the school.

"Failure to follow the parking regulations will result in (vehicles) being booted or towed at (student) expense," he said.

Students, as they have for generations, are parking in unassigned and unauthorized areas around the school. Since returning to school, students have been parking in spaces around the building including the small lot next to the Warren Street parking lot — which is not allowed, according to Corkum. They have also been parking in front of or near private driveways and in places where they might get ticketed, too.

A second letter was sent out to parents a week later.

"We have informed students and now, want to inform parents that students who park in unauthorized areas or reserved spaces run the risk of having their vehicle booted or towed," Corkum noted.

Corkum said cars must be parked in a marked/painted space in the senior section. Parking on the grass or on the shoulder of the lot is not permitted.

There are some students, he said, that are allowed to park on campus. But those students have been granted special permission, such as for a medical reason, and have been given a pass. Students who see other students parking on the school property should not assume this is allowed for them.

Students who park on the street also need to adhere to any time notices, Corkum said. Some spaces are only 20 minutes while others have 2-hour time limits.

"If parking on the street, students need to be cognizant of parking too close or blocking any driveways," he said. "(They) cannot be within five feet of a driveway."

Corkum said he hoped the notices would resolve the issues.

Deputy Chief John Thomas of the Concord Police Department said neither the department nor the city's parking unit had been contacted by the school or the district about issues around the high school even though they have been in the past. He said, however, the parking unit would be patrolling the area and issuing tickets or boots, when necessary, as well as investigating parking complaints.

Parking around the school has been an issue for many decades due to the school being built in a mostly residential neighborhood.

Meetings began taking place during the 1980s as more and more students became licensed to drive and the school had a somewhat open campus. That changed in the mid-1980s, due to student abuse of open campus policies. In the 1990s, the city began restricting parking for many blocks around the school to discourage daytime parking (hence all the no parking from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. signs on many streets around the school).

To report a parking complaint to the city, call 603-225-8600.

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