Parents Prohibited from Parking in Front of La Entrada School

Parents who drop off their children at will have to drive through the half circle in front of the school starting August 22, instead of parking their cars in front of the building.

unanimously approved the installation of a no-parking zone on the east side of Altschul Avenue, which will forbid drivers from parking their cars there during peak student drop off and pick up hours. On-street parking on the north side of Sharon Road from Altschul Avenue will also be restricted.

City Council Member i motioned to approve the motion, with Council Member Andy Cohen seconding it. Mayor Rich Cline was not in attendance.

During the deliberation process, Vice Mayor Kirsten Keith made one amendment to the initiative, which added a completion date of August 22.

“That’s the first day of school, so that makes sense,” said Council Member Kelly Fergusson.

Rene Baile, Menlo Park Transportation Engineer, said the Las Lomitas School District requested this method of traffic control to enable school buses to pass through the road more easily than they currently can.

“Parked cars encroach the travel way," Baile said. "And if you have cars parked there, there’s no room for kids to bike on the street, or for the school buses to pass through Altschul,” he added.

Half of the roughly 700 students who attend get there via a school bus, according to Sonya Dineen, assistant principal at La Entrada. The rest either cycle to school or are dropped off by parents.

“What we’re looking for is the ability to be able to extend the queue of parents who are waiting to get into the half circle where they drop off/pick up students,” Dineen said, noting that it takes about 30 minutes to get through the queue.

During school days, cars would be prohibited from parking in front of the school during the hours of 7:45-8:15 a.m. as well as between the hours of 2:45 and 3:15 p.m.

On May 11, The Menlo Park Transportation Commission reviewed the issue and recommended that the city proceed with installation.  Commissioners did express concern that people would continue to park on the street in spite of the signs, if they are pressed for time, or circumvent the parking restrictions by parking further down the road.

City staffers said that parking officials that patrol the downtown area could be dispatched to monitor the situation in West Menlo Park, if the need arose.