Catlin Gabel secretary lays down the facts about CG parking

By Alexandria Nagy, ‘22

With limited space in the main lot and the St. Vincent parking garage being a substantial walk away, the new job of the Catlin Gabel School (CGS) Secretary to delegate carpool parking spots amongst students is a hefty one. 

Students across the upper school have continuously expressed their unhappiness and confusion with the parking rules and prohibitions. CGS senior Aidan Sheeran Hahnel, the newest secretary as of 2021, has some answers to the questions we have all been asking about parking, the first and most common being, why can’t CG students park in the main lot? 

“Last year, when students were allowed to park on campus, you would see massive traffic jams when school was released…Additionally, now that visitors are allowed back on campus, the school doesn’t want to risk not having enough event parking,” Sheeran-Hahnel noted.

Nevertheless, many CG community members may have noticed a gravel lot adjacent to Cabel Center that has substantial parking space: a couple of busses and faculty vehicles park there. 

“That’s employee parking,” Sheeran Hahnel observed. “I’ve never gone back there, so I don’t know if it’s actually full or not, but I imagine it’s used pretty frequently.”

However, Sheeran-Hahnel did admit he had a vision for potential space in the lots that would lessen the environmental impact of students’ commutes: the addition of electric vehicle chargers to a row of parking spots to help cut down emissions. 

“Advocating for more carpool bays hasn’t gotten me anywhere in the past, [but] driving to the 7th and 8th floors of Saint V’s adds serious mileage for student drivers, so administration should be trying to get as many students parking on campus as possible,” Sheeran-Hahnel commented.