Starting the week of April 6, unrestricted parking spaces on Bonita Ave between Magnolia Avenue and Vista Avenue were converted to two-hour parking spaces, more than doubling the number of two-hour parking spaces near the civic center. Unrestricted parking, as well as Permit A (PUSD employee) parking on Bonita Avenue and Magnolia Avenue, have been impacted by these changes.
The shift to two-hour parking is in anticipation of visitors to the newly-opened Piedmont Pool, Piedmont Communications Director Echa Schneider said.
“We’re gonna have a new facility that the community has invested a substantial amount of money in building, and we want to make sure people are able to access it,” Schneider said.
Schneider said the changes were in response to complaints about insufficient visitor parking, backed by a community survey. Out of 483 respondents, 126 said that more time-limited spaces would make a better parking experience, while 204 said the current distribution is “about right.”
Schneider said the city council often hears from local businesses that say customers complain about parking constraints.
“Parking in the civic center is extremely constrained,” Schneider said. “There is simply not enough space to go around.”
Schneider said the City Council acknowledges that the changes make parking harder for students and employees in the civic center area, and that they aim to prioritize visitors.
“That’s really who it’s for. Everybody who comes to the civic center, to recreate, to do business, to patronize local businesses, for events, that is what we’re trying to create parking for,” Schneider said.
Students and teachers have voiced frustration with the changes and the perceived lack of communication and input into the decision.
“There’s never been this little parking lot, and I’ve been here for 19 years,” said biology, guitar engineering, anatomy, and physics teacher Marna Chamberlain.
Health science teacher Lael McAuliffe said the changes in parking make it harder for teachers to bring in the materials they need.
“Lots of us [teachers] carry different materials for our classes – lab equipment, art, supplies, books; things that aren’t easy to transport long distances,” McAuliffe said.
Chamberlain said she was frustrated by how the changes deprioritize teachers and by how little input she feels teachers had in them.
“I mean, it’s heartbreaking. I just feel like this community has changed so much. Like we used to be, so valued and trusted, and what we said mattered, because they knew that we totally cared about our students. I want to do the best for my students,” said Chamberlain. “We are continuously getting this message, not even that you don’t matter, but like we actually are gonna take stuff away from you.”
Junior Alex Schleuning said many students weren’t aware of the changes as they were happening.
“After a lot of the parking changed to two hours over break, a lot of students didn’t realize and got tickets because nobody told them.
Senior Jameson Sanford said the changes in parking are a new source of stress for students.
“I definitely think it makes students stressed out during the day, and, like, worried about having to move their cars if they’re parking in the two-hour parking. And then it makes a lot of students late to class because they can’t find anywhere to park,” Sanford said.
In response to the changes in parking, Sanford and senior Peyton Watson worked together to start an online petition to reverse the parking changes through the website Change.org, alongside reaching out to City Council members directly. As of the date of publication, the survey has received over 360 signatures.
Watson said she was motivated to get involved with advocating for change because she realized how many students and staff are being negatively impacted.
“The first day back, like three of my teachers were talking about the new parking changes,” Watson said.
Sanford said she doesn’t understand why the City Council is prioritizing visitors.
“I feel like it just shows they’re not prioritizing the people in the community, and they’re just prioritizing the visitors, which we don’t need,” Sanford said.
No City Council members have replied to Sanford and Watson as of the date of publication.
