On Tuesday, January 14, students from Los Altos High School spoke out against the new parking regulations at the Los Altos City Council meeting.
Since the middle of December, street parking at the back of the school has been prohibited by the city, mainly caused by resident complaints. The decision forced students to park farther away from school.
Multiple students attended the meeting, but senior Osvaldo Valenzuela organized the protest, speaking on behalf of many on the LAHS campus.
“The parking restrictions disproportionately affect lower income students who live farther away,” Osvaldo said during public comment. “They can’t walk, they can’t bike; they have to drive.”
Osvaldo also argued that the restrictions brought up other issues, like safety for students walking, disruptions to students’ morning schedules and the fact that the solution would not actually solve the issue — and would rather just move the parking problem to a different area.
Even students that live close enough to walk feel the change of the new restrictions.
“The insanity of parents dropping off, double parking, swerving into the bike lane has increased since more people need to drop off,” senior Trevor Crane said. “I’ve almost got hit multiple times.”
On the other hand, some Los Altos residents argued that the restrictions have caused increased safety, reduced illegal parking and overall less inconvenience for houses neighboring the school.
The City Council is planning to address the pressing issue in the near future.
“We will be taking up parking in a more comprehensive manner, probably in February or the beginning of March, when we can deliberate on measures to mitigate the burdens the people on the streets are feeling,” Los Altos mayor Pete Dailey said.
This meeting is not the end of the fight for parking for students at LAHS. The students that attended the meeting plan to continue to come to City Council and subcommittee meetings, but with more data from students using the Google Form they sent out to all sophomores, juniors and seniors through email.
“This is only the beginning, and that was by intention,” Ozvaldo said. “I urge students who live in Los Altos to tell their parents about the issue, because the council is more likely to make a change if voting members argue that the restrictions are making things worse.”
