It was 6:32 AM, and as I pulled onto Sophomore Street yesterday morning, my heart sunk. The street was filled, not a spot in sight. With desperation, irritation, and a slight amount of exhaustion, I sluggishly drove my station-wagon through the gates and into the forbidden student parking lot. Fully aware of the consequences, I took one of the many open spaces near the exit, and prayed that a ticket wouldn’t find its way onto my dashboard.

Yet, it did. Disappointed (but not surprised) I paid my dues (a total of $10) to the bookkeeper.

However, I wasn’t ready to move on. And I’m still not.

I recently posted an article (“The Truth About Sophomore Street”), after a conversation with AHS parking representative Mr. Ceriani. After speaking with him, and discussing the concern with peers, I decided to approach the city of Centennial on the topic. A few weeks back, I left a work request on the City of Centennial page. The following day, I received a call from one of their representatives. She asked a few more questions and actually promised to transfer my concerns to the department of traffic engineering. I thanked her and hung up the phone. 

In full honesty, I believed I’d never receive a reply. That I’d have to leave another request if I wanted even an ounce of consideration.

Then, it happened. On March 26th, I received a email from Rolando Melgoza, a traffic engineer for the city of Centennial. He addressed my concerns and thoughts about Franklin Street (Sophomore Street), and mentioned the committee’s opinions. The message went as follows:

“…Traffic Engineering Services conducted a field visit to observe the parking situation. We also discussed the concerns at our TES meeting last week. At this time the City is unable to move forward with any new striping along S. Franklin St. Our recommendation is for Arapahoe High School (working with the parking supervisor) to educate drivers (at all grade levels) about appropriate parking practices. Students may also explore options that rely less on driving such as the school district provided buses as well as alternative forms of transportation (biking, RTD, walking).”

To keep it simple, the City of Centennial doesn’t intend to do anything about Sophomore Street. Nor does Arapahoe High School. It’s rather, once again, left to the students and those without parking permits.

I admit that I don’t know what’s ahead for Sophomore Street. The only solution we can even address revolves around sophomore drivers and Franklin street parkers. If you would like to park there, do it well. Don’t leave massive gaps. Don’t leave your tail-end out in the street. Make room for other drivers and don’t lock someone in. I understand that the semester is slipping away and summer is rising quickly. Yet, the problem remains. We might not be able to fix the situation right now, but we can certainly recognize it.