City planners recommend extra parking for Broughton

Raleigh, N.C. — After denying a request last month for additional parking spaces at Broughton High School, the Raleigh City Council's Comprehensive Planning Committee on Wednesday approved 100 additional spaces for the front of the school.

In addition, the commission recommended making nearby Cameron Street a private roadway, which would return as many as 50 additional spaces that were lost when the city imposed regulations for city-owned streets.

The commission also wants the Wake County Board of Education to look at a paving surface other than asphalt so that water could get through. That would allow the parking surface be removed and the lawn restored if the school ever finds parking elsewhere.

The recommendations go to the full City Council next week.

School system officials initially asked for 126 additional spaces on the school lawn, a less-expensive alternative to its other option – building a parking deck.

The proposal has sparked debate between some alumni, who have argued that paving the front lawn takes away from the school's beauty, and students, who complain parking is difficult.

About 1,000 Broughton students are eligible to drive to the school, at 723 Saint Mary's St. near downtown Raleigh, but on-campus student parking is limited to 60 spaces. Students say they have to pay to park in off-campus lots or fight for spaces on residential streets.

Broughton, which sits on 26 acres, was founded in 1929 and is among the oldest of the 17 high schools in Wake County. The land has been designated a historic landmark.