The lack of available parking is a subject of complaint with Morton East staff and students. 

One of the fastest forms (and these days, warmest) of transportation to and from school has been by vehicle, and as more students receive their driver’s licenses, more drive to school yet the number of parking spaces lack. The plight is that the school provides public parking with a limited space of 396 parking spaces that can be occupied by residents and students.  96 parking spaces available for students and the remaining 300 are only for teachers and staff. It’s more of a struggle for students and if there is about 2,000 juniors and seniors, 100 parking spaces would mean there is only one space available for every 200 students.  (Of course, not all students drive.)   Although principal Mr. Gamboa has mentioned parking is not an issue anymore, but there is still a dilemma when different seasons approach.  Snow complicates seeking for parking and arriving to school on time. A parking garage would be a great idea but is not the school’s top priority since most students live around the area.  Also, public transportation is provided by Pace and CTA — and let’s not discount the idea of walking to school – something many students do daily.    

“My first year here I didn’t park in a reserved parking.   Because I was late and couldn’t find a spot, I parked on the street and Cicero, ended up towing my car,” said Journalism teacher Kent Frankfother.  

Parking at Morton is an issue and there are solutions being talked about  

“Parking is definitely a problem; it would be pretty cool if they were to build a parking garage — (maybe they could) just add on levels to the lot by the field house,” said Security Guard Alvaro. 

While the parking issue will surely not be forgotten, it will not be resolved anytime soon as there are more important things to repair around the campus.  

“A parking garage is at the bottom of their priorities:   the dream goal would be to add levels on to the parking lot already then add a soccer field on the 3rd level (the top) in a span of about 5 years if everything goes according to their plan,” said astronomy teacher Mr. Depke.