LTE: They Can Do Better For Westhill Students

Dear Editor,

We, the Westhill High School Student Committee Advocating for Student Parking, want to clarify as well as get a few facts straight: the first, last, and only time the Westhill student body (not our parents) was included in the parking crisis was on February 3, 2026, during an assembly in our school's auditorium. All the "voluntary meetings" hosted by the City of Stamford, Stamford Public Schools and Westhill Administrators did not include us, Westhill High School students. We, the students, did not receive any emails or direct communication to be involved in the multi-year planning process.

More importantly, it appears that finding alternative parking for Students and Westhill staff was not discussed and considered in this $446 million project. Did the decision makers think about the impact of eliminating student parking on campus, outright, and the "hazardous environment" it will create in compromising "the safety of our students and staff"?

On top of that, were the adults in the room during these meetings, and the planning process for this massive construction project consider the "gridlock" and congestion it would create in the areas around Westhill High School and Roxbury Elementary School? Worse, did they conduct a survey and traffic studies regarding the impact of eliminating student parking on campus would have on neighborhood homes and businesses?

Again, the only time we, the students of Westhill High School, many of us seniors who will be voters soon, were involved and became part of this parking crisis was on February 3rd, when we were told that student parking on campus will be eliminated starting April 1st, and "make alternative arrangements yourself."

Our job is to be a student, and we are confident the adults working for the City of Stamford and Stamford Public Schools can do a better job at finding us a permanent alternative student parking arrangement until the construction project at Westhill High School is completed, so that the juniors next year, sophomores the year after, and the students after that, need not go through what we are fighting for again.

As students, we are simply shocked and disappointed that we even have to go to this length to get the adults in the room to think about us and let you know that we exist. Furthermore, it is even more shocking that the adults during the planning process of this $446 million construction project did not even consider the impact of removing on-campus student parking, especially on the traffic pattern and safety concerns that taking away student parking will have in the area around Westhill High School's vicinity.

It appears that the planners and decision-makers of this construction project did not consider “worst case scenario” whereby we have hundreds of teenage drivers trying to find safe and legal street parking near the school and rushing to get to class on time. The increased risk of accidents is especially pertinent for students from downtown who already struggle with overcrowded buses, and it is the students’ only way to get to school with their own vehicle. The administration’s email to our parents dated March 11, 2026, with the subject “Westhill Afternoon Pick Up,” clearly indicates that they have no clue what chaos is going to ensue after April 1st when student on-campus parking is eliminated without providing a long-term permanent solution. We demand that the City of Stamford and Stamford Public Schools provide us with permanent, alternative, safe, and legal parking before April 1st.

Sincerely,

The Westhill High School Student Committee Advocating for Student Parking

Saksham Behl
Michael Conley
Sean Dao
Paul Ferris
Lilah Studebaker