Parking is a challenge at Sedro-Woolley high school: limited number of spots available, narrow parking stalls and bad parking by students all contribute to a problematic parking situation. 

“We always have a parking shortage especially in the spring when more drivers get their license,” said Chris Spencer, Academic Dean of Students for Sedro-Woolley High School.

If one were to measure each of the parking spots in the student parking lot, they would find the width would be on average 7.5 Feet. However according to, the County’s Unified Development code, “-Minimum size of a standard parking space is eight and one-half feet,” meaning that the student parking lot is below the minimum width. 

A study by the University of Idaho in 1990 found that stall parking was the most space-efficient based on the average size of motor vehicles in 1990, SWHS school parking lot had the same issue: it was designed for cars built in the last century, which are bigger now than ever. Some pickup trucks are so large that they are longer than some tanks. According to Ford, a 2021 Ford F150 is around 17.5 Feet, and according to Flying heritage, the M4 ‘Sherman’ Medium Tank was about 12.2 Feet.

The Senior parking spots are on average 8.25 feet, which is wider than the normal student parking, but is a far cry from the widest parking spots. The teacher parking lot is on average 9.83 feet, except for the disabled parking spot which is smaller at around 9.6 feet. The School District has given the youngest and least experienced drivers, the sophomores and juniors, the smallest and most challenging parking spots. 

When the bell rings at the end of the school day, there is a large number of students trying to leave all at once, causing traffic. Pedestrians trying to get to their cars are also at risk, with many students who are already leaving in their cars not yielding to the pedestrians. There is also no safe direct path that doesn’t involve crossing the busy parking lot. 

Sedro-Woolley Police Department public records since 2010 show an increase in reported car accidents before school starts and right after school ends. Some accidents with little or no visible damage are probably underreported since teens would want to avoid getting in trouble if they can.

As far as Sedro-Woolley School District Public Records show, the student parking lot has never been repainted, repaired, or updated; the only thing that has been done was the addition of security gates in 1995. 

However, Chris Spencer did say that there are plans with the city of Sedro-Woolley to add angled parking to the opposite side of the fence. He did not say when this would happen. 

Spencer suggests to students in the meantime, “Arrive early, be on time, and don’t come late.”