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Skyview students and Smithfield residents compete for parking space By
Katherine Romney
Summer is here and so are sophomores with cars -- and the Smithfield City Council doesn't like it. The last couple of weeks, the Skyview parking lot has been filling up and so has the nearby street. The Smithfield City Council has received several complaints about students parking on the street from people living across from the high school. "There is very little carpooling. Every student is driving a car," said council member Jeffrey Gittins. This is not a new problem for Skyview. Last year it expanded the parking lot. "The expansion from last year was not enough because we still have the problem this year," said council member David Buys. On March 11, Mayor Kent Ward counted 63 cars parked on the street across from Skyview High School. There were 45 open stalls inside the parking lot. "The only problem months are April and May. By then all of the sophomores have their drivers' licenses," said Buys. Ward said, "Students are moving garbage cans from the curb to make parking space, and the neighbors are mad. I don't understand why they are parking on the street when there are plenty of empty stalls." The City Council made a temporary decision during the meeting Wednesday to inform school officials and the neighbors that the city would begin ticketing cars that are parked on the street during school hours. "I am concerned that the neighbors will accidentally have their cars ticketed," said Buys. "We are trying to help them, not hurt them." Ward said, "There is really no other choice. School officials know about the problem and still nothing is being done." Signs will be placed on the street to warn drivers about the no-parking zone. The City Council will once again inform the neighbors that it realizes there is a problem and is planning to doing something about it.
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