Across Palo Alto High School, there are frequent grievances about the campus parking situation. While we acknowledge parking can be stressful, students can take more accountability for their parking choices, and work together to make the parking situation better for everyone.

We spoke with multiple students who believe that parking at Paly is a major problem, especially in the Churchill parking lot. Many student-athletes said that they prefer to park in the Churchill parking lot to avoid having to walk a long way with their gear to get to practice.

Junior Dylan Liao, who plays water polo, said that parking in the Churchill lot is more convenient for athletes going to practice.

“You have to walk all the way there [to practice from the other side of the school], and then Coach is wondering ‘Where have you been?’ But the problem is that you have to park basically a mile away from the actual pool,” Liao said.

Student parking in the Churchill lot is often fully occupied, leaving student-athletes to park in the Embarcadero parking lot. To mitigate traffic and open up more spots for those who need to park in the Churchill lot, students should be more considerate of the needs of others, especially student-athletes, when they decide where to park.

Students who don’t have after-school activities in the athletics center or pool area could consider parking in the Embarcadero lot to leave spots in the Churchill lot open. Students who live closer to school could also take advantage of alternative transportation options, such as biking or carpooling, instead of driving to school alone. This would leave parking spaces available for those who need it more, including athletes and students who live further away from school.

In addition to reducing traffic and providing more parking spaces, carpooling and biking are more environmentally friendly. According to a study by the University of Oxford, choosing a bike over a car just once a day reduces the average person’s carbon emissions from transportation by 67%. Not only will biking to school significantly help the climate, but it will avoid the hassle of parking in the morning. Often, it can be faster to bike to school than to drive.

However, maintaining a convenient parking situation is a collective effort. Student-athletes could also take more responsibility for their own parking. If they want to secure a spot in the Churchill parking lot, they could arrive at school earlier to beat the traffic.

Additionally, the Paly administration works hard to give out parking permits to students, and should not be blamed for parking struggles.

Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said that there have not been any major issues with parking this year.

“I have not seen any negative things so far,” Berkson said. “I thought maybe the El Camino closing would be a problem, but there appears to be plenty of open spots.”

Berkson also said that parking has improved at Paly over the past few years due to a decrease in students.

“The total number of students in school has dropped over the past few years from a high of 2,200 plus to around 1,875,” Berkson said. “When the population was higher, it was a pretty tight fit.”

If you are not a student-athlete, it is clear that parking is not an issue because of the abundance of spots in the Embarcadero parking lot. Regardless of whether or not you are a student-athlete, remember that driving to school and having the option of campus parking is a luxury that not everyone has.

By being more considerate and efficient when choosing how to commute to school, Paly students can help athletes who have practices on the Churchill side of the school and help reduce carbon emissions if they choose to bike or carpool. When choosing how to get to school, remember to consider that driving to school is a privilege that shouldn’t be taken for granted.