The signs, they are a changin’ again. A new set of parking signs has been installed beyond the 500-foot radius around Los Altos High School.
Continuing to address a longstanding parking and traffic problem with limited student parking, the Los Altos City Council in February approved the installation of green signs that allow two-hour parking between 8 a.m. and noon on school days.
The signs were installed in July in preparation for the start of the new school year.
Red-lettered no-parking signs, around the immediate high school area framed by Almond Avenue, Panchita Way, Jardin Drive and Alicia Way, still dictate no parking between 8 a.m. and noon on school days. The red-lettered signs say that commercial vehicles are exempt. The new green-lettered signs do not include that wording.
“The area where the new signs went up never had commercial restrictions, nor am I aware of issues with commercial vehicle parking,” said Steven Son, the city’s transportation manager. “Some of the old existing signs do have that language, and I am not sure why. I am trying not to create unnecessary regulations in the area and just trying to address parking issues that are caused by the students parking in the neighborhood.”
Neighbors on the streets with the no-parking signs “wanted strict parking restrictions without any modifications,” Son said. “The parking restriction for residents beyond 500 feet from the school has been mixed. Some of the residents strongly opposed any parking restrictions in front of their property, while their next-door neighbor wanted parking restrictions.”
The unintended outcome of the four-hour no-parking rule was residents running the risk of getting a ticket for parking on the street – even briefly – in front of their homes.
That’s what happened to Jim Jolly on Panchita. He moved his vehicle onto the street to allow for delivery of a new dryer. He said he received a ticket after being parked no more than 10 minutes.
“The signs were changed ahout a week ago on part of Panchita Way,” Jolly said in early August. “The new signs were installed in the direction of El Camino Real. … There is no statement about commercial vehicles being exempt. My house is in this section, so I plan to use that in my hearing to return my $51 fine. The city must be getting a lot of complaints about their efforts to control student parking.”
