Tenth grader at Miami Country Day School, Danielle Amoils, has decided to pay a monthly fee to a local resident so that she may park at her house. She is not the only one. As Miami Country Day School awaits the opening of the brand new parking garage, it seems the Barry lot is a last resort. Swarms of faculty members, students, and parents park at more convenient locations. These locations include local residents’ houses, the corner flower shop, and the mini supermarket across the street.  

“Originally, my brother parked there,” explained Danielle, when asked how she found a place to park. “Now that he has left and graduated, I am able to take his spot.” Danielle added.  She prefers her own spot over Barry, not only because it is more convenient, but also because she “would have to wake up early, and really does not want to do that”, explains Danielle. Furthermore, Danielle explained, that if she were to park at Barry she would need to leave her house early, go to the lot, wait for the shuttle, and then finally arrive at school. However, with her spot, all Danielle has to do is “just walk across the street, which does not take long.”

Students are not the only ones that have found a loophole. Ms. Broce, a fourth grade teacher at MCDS, has opted to park at her friend’s house located only a couple of blocks away from school. Ms. Broce’s main reason for parking somewhere other than Barry is not because she wants to sneak in a few extra minutes of sleep, but simply because she wants to be the one in control of when she can and can’t leave school. “I stay late and so I don’t want to be concerned with getting the shuttle, and I want to have the ability to go when I need to go,” stated Ms. Broce. While Ms.Broce does have to walk from the house to school, which takes approximately fifteen minutes, she describes it as “a quiet time, even though it is a walk. It gives me time to think a little bit and just get my mind set for the day.” Ms. Broce went on to add, “There are pros and cons. What we are doing is ultimately for a great, very beautiful product at the end. The parking somewhere else is going to pay off.”  

Upper School art teacher, Mr. Ordonez, does not even bother driving a car to school. “I ride my bike to school. It [Barry] is just so far out of the way. And plus, I enjoy riding my bike to school, it feels great!” Mr. Ordoñez concludes that if the students and teachers want to park elsewhere, and it is more convenient for them, he “doesn’t see why not.”

Jennifer Sazant, a mother of two students at MCDS, has devised a plan in order to avoid the Barry shuttle. “I make sure to leave my house extra early when I need to go to school. Whether it be a sporting event or a PA meeting, I leave around fifteen minutes before needed to ensure a spot, usually in the North Lot.” Jennifer’s imaginative strategy has helped her greatly; she has never had to take the Barry shuttle once and is “very happy because it is a big inconvenience.” Similar to Ms. Broce, Jennifer knows that the parking complications will “end up being worth it.”

Although many students and teachers have chosen to search for parking elsewhere due to the Barry nuisance,10th grader Ryan Finvarb, “started parking at Barry as soon as I got my license, which was in late September.” Ryan believes that the only difference between the Barry disruption and having your own parking spot is “that you don’t have to take the bus out to Barry from school every day when you leave school, which could get annoying when everyone rushes into them as soon as the bell rings.” Although Danielle Amoils had mentioned that the main reason she does not want to ride the Barry shuttle is because she would have to wake up much earlier, Ryan states that he tends to “wake up fifteen minutes or so earlier, but it’s really not that terrible.” Ryan says that he thinks finding a spot closer to school is a good idea, and he “personally would like to park closer.” Ryan later added that he does not “feel it is worth the amounts students have been paying for it.”

Barry being  both off route and an added addition to the time consuming morning commute seems to be a common problem between all members of the MCDS community. Now, the MCDS community asks the questions of how much longer this parking fiasco will continue and when the new parking garage will be completed.