By Lauren McSherry
 Top, a student walks to Los Altos High School from the Valencia Drive neighborhood. |
Students who park their cars in the Valencia Drive neighborhood near Los Altos High School will be getting the boot within the month.
The city council approved instituting restricted parking during school hours last week after three years of lobbying from neighborhood residents to put an end to the traffic problem. Approximately 30-35 cars park in the neighborhood each day, according to traffic engineer Tom Ho.
During the Nov. 29 meeting, several residents said the situation would only get worse because high school enrollment - and with it the number of students driving to school - continues to increase. Enrollment jumped from 1,355 students in 2000 to 1,709 in 2005.
Some residents blamed high school officials, alleging that the parking problem developed because of negligence on the part of high school officials since the expansion of the high school in 2002.
“If you don’t change the status quo, you’re not sending any message to the high school,” one resident told the council.
Los Altos High principal Wynne Satterwhite, though present at the meeting, did not refute accusations directed her way.
Councilmembers agreed with residents that the handling of the high school’s parking permit system is the source of the current situation, but they also said the issue is outside the city’s jurisdiction.
“Albeit localized, there is a problem here,” Councilman Curtis Cole said, adding that the city can’t directly make the high school take responsibility for the parking nuisance faced by residents.
“Let’s push the problem back to the high school or disperse it,” he said.
Councilman Ron Packard concurred. “I’m concerned (that restrictions) will solve an immediate problem but are not a long-term solution,” he said.
Parking will be prohibited from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during school days on Valencia Drive from Almond Avenue through Biarritz Circle and along Dior Terrace. Commercial vehicles will be exempt.
Councilman King Lear cast the only “no” vote, saying, “I think it’s going to be onerous, and, in terms of a wise decision, I don’t think it’s going to hold up well.”
“We’re not just trying to protect our neighborhoods,” resident Renee Koury said. “We’re trying to disperse the traffic. It’s a safety issue.”
