This story was originally published in our 2025 Winter magazine.
For many high schools, getting a driver’s license marks a new level of freedom, but it also means more cars competing for limited parking spaces at school and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Students can get their permit starting at age 15 and a half, then can get their license when they turn 16. Most students turn 16 during their sophomore year, which means 3 out of the 4 grades have student drivers.
“[We have] fewer kids at the beginning of the year [driving and parking on campus],” Administrative Vice Principal (AVP) Charles Velschow said. “Then, as you progress through the school year, and especially in the spring, sophomores start to drive, and that’s when you see a lot [of student drivers].”
The school lot has approximately 200 parking spots for juniors and seniors to use for the school year, available for $50.
“I think we have one of the largest high school parking lots in either the county or in the state,” Velschow said. “I go to quite a few other high schools because we have to go to games, and we do have a pretty generous parking lot in terms of the overall size.”
Due to the fact that only juniors and seniors are allowed to park, this results in sophomores having to either get rides, carpool, bike, or park on the neighborhood streets.
“We were working a lot with the neighbors and trying to minimize students [parking and getting picked up in their neighborhoods],” Velschow said. “Although this school is in a unique location where you have a major freeway and a major state highway, and you also have a major avenue, Alameda. We’re basically boxed in, and then you have this residential area over here, so it’s a tough place to be [with exits and parking].”
Although the school day lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. for most, is a prime working hour for adults.
“There are a lot of people who live in the neighborhood who leave for work before kids start parking, and then they come back after the kids have left,” Velschow said. “So they may not be aware of the parking issue.”
During the 2024-2025 school year, a large amount of parking off Woodside Road was available for students to use. However, midway through the school year, CalTrans decided to remove it to add a bike lane, aiming to make it safer and more efficient for bike riders.
“Since the parking was taken off Woodside Road, we have not heard anything from the neighbors,” Velschow said. “I think they realize that before we were really trying to encourage students to try and avoid the neighborhood, and now the neighbors see what happened, and they understand that students don’t have many choices now.”
Senior Kaitlynn Fukuhara has parked off campus for the past 3 school years.
“[I choose to park off campus because] my grandma lives right next to school, so I can park in her driveway,” Fukahara said. “It’s just more of a walk, depending on where my first period class is, but it was a good way to see her more often.”
Fukahara has expressed concerns with the parking lot and the safety of people and their cars in it.
“So many accidents happen in the parking lot,” Fukuhara said. “It’s scary how fast people go, not only in the lot, but also trying to get out of the lot. Everyone’s trying to leave at once, and the school exits being very small, it creates so much traffic.”
Although the parking lot has its drawbacks, including unsafe drivers, it also has its advantages, such as the social aspect of everyone coming from and going to the same place.
“I kind of miss the social aspect of the [student] parking lot,” Fukahara said. “Walking with friends to cars, or walking from our cars to class together, seems like a core experience, but I’ve realized that with volleyball directly after school, it doesn’t really matter that much.”
The parking lot, located on the far northeast side of the school, could make it a longer walk for students who have their first and last period classes in the I or J-wing.
“I think there are pros and cons to each choice [of parking on campus or off campus],” Fukahara said. “It honestly depends on your situation and preference.”
