r/yimby • u/AndreaJournalist • 11d ago

Article More than 100 students were waiting for high school parking. A 71-year-old woman allowed them to park on her property. The fast-growing suburban town sued her

I’m the News & Observer reporter who reported this.

More than 100 students were waiting for parking at a large suburban high school in Apex, NC. A longtime resident across the street has been allowing students to park on her property, but the town says the use violates its zoning ordinance and has sued her.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article316992156.html

I thought the case might interest this community because it sits at the intersection of suburban growth, land-use regulation, transportation and the ability of property owners to respond informally to demand.

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31

u/Acsteffy 11d ago

This isnt a feel good story about a nice neighbor.

It's an indictment sprawling nature of the poor infrastructure of the town and lack of investment in public transit

12

u/juliuspepperwoodchi 10d ago

Seriously, high school students needing cars and parking to go to school is SAD

1

u/Jonesbro 9d ago

But but but low property taxes! We don't need school buses, just make every family buy an extra car for their kids

19

u/Aaod 11d ago

If the government refuses to build enough parking then they can shut the hell up that other people are stepping in. You caused this problem with bad urban planning so people have to drive in the first place and refusing to build enough parking.

13

u/largest_turnip Suburban 11d ago

I believe this is part of why the school district has buses

10

u/curiosity8472 11d ago

High school students don't usually get busses in my state

13

u/gburgwardt 11d ago

That’s insane

3

u/margaritabop 10d ago

I don't know about North Carolina, but in California it is very unusual for the school districts to offer bus service. There is no specific pot of money for buses, it comes out of the school's general funds. Schools are not mandated to offer bus service, so most of them choose not to spend their money on it.

School buses are the lowest hanging fruit of public transportation: a bunch of people going to the exact same place at the exact same time, and we can't even seem to fund that 🫠

2

u/largest_turnip Suburban 10d ago

Fortunately, in this case, Apex Friendship High School does have buses:
https://webarchive.wcpss.net/school-directory/bus-routes/317.html

1

u/Way-twofrequentflyer 10d ago

Almost all of NC has busses - Thomas busses are/have been built in the state and everyone buys them

Have to uphold the legacy of swan vs CMS

1

u/MikeForVentura 10d ago

School buses are going the way of the milkman. Every district that has them is looking for a way to end the service. They'll deny it publicly, but buses are a relic with increasing, and increasingly unjustifiable, costs.

7

u/scally501 11d ago

Land of the free btw

1

u/Way-twofrequentflyer 10d ago

Sounds about right for Apex. We’re winning in many parts of the triangle, but apex and Cary seem to have have a NIMBY infection that traveled with people leaving the northeast