The ambitious new parking lot of Cardinal Newman High School opened up in August to dozens of drivers at the school. Students had been parking at a temporary lot until the new parking lot asphalt had time to settle in.

Father David Carr and Dr. Christine Higgins officially broke ground on a million dollar parking lot renovation project at Cardinal Newman High School in May. According to Mary Martens, director of development at Newman, the renovation of the student parking lot is expected to to be completed on March 1, 12 days before classes are set to begin for the 2018-2019 academic year. 

The entrance to the previous student parking lot is chained and closed. Students completing the end of the 2017-2018 school year were directed to temporarily park at a lot set up on the corner of the athletic fields. 

“It’s not like terrible,” said upcoming Junior Hunter Love of the new parking arrangements. “But with the weather being so rainy, its been mushy,” he said regarding the temporary parking lot. However, Love acknowledges the temporary parking lot is for a better outcome.

“Driving through that was horrible,” he said of the old parking lot. “There were a lot of potholes to drive through and when it rained we had to walk through a swamp.”

The previous student parking lot was infamous for potholes, cracks, and flooding with the smallest amount of rain. 

“I hated driving in it because of all the potholes I had to drive around. When it rained the potholes filled up with water and the entire parking lot would flood,” said Annabel Rose.

Junior Emily Magnuson added, “I am super excited for the renovation of the parking lot. The old potholes were tricky to maneuver around and it was very chaotic. The temporary parking lot in the practice field seems to be working well and is much more organized than I expected.”

Gallery • 4 Photos