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Parents urge district to block cars from Los Altos High’s East Drive after tally shows many students using the path
Summary
Multiple parents asked the board to install bollards or close East Drive to vehicles during school arrival and dismissal after a resident’s tally found dozens of pedestrians and cyclists but only a handful of cars in the corridor.
Parents and residents urged trustees to take quick safety steps at Los Altos High School’s East Drive during public comment on May 5, describing the corridor as a heavy student circulation area where a single vehicle can cause catastrophic harm.
Why it matters: speakers said the path is used by hundreds of students daily and that a small number of cars present a disproportionate risk given vehicle mass and the rise in vehicle‑ramming attacks in other jurisdictions.
What speakers presented - Mountain View resident and parent Silja Paymer said she tallied uses of East Drive between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. on a recent day and recorded “4 cars, 99 student cyclists, 273 student pedestrians” (she said the figure likely undercounts students and that she stopped tallying at 8:32 a.m.). - Dr. Tracy Correa, introduced as a parent, told the board, “Motor vehicle car crashes were the leading cause of death for our student age groups,” and recommended installation of bollards where students gather and yearly education about driving risks. - Gordon Ferguson, another parent, proposed locations for bollards at the Jarden entry and urged the board to close East Drive to cars during arrival/dismissal or, at minimum, reinstate prior street‑design protections the speakers said were removed during recent construction.
Discussion vs. decision: speakers requested physical changes (bollards) and a temporary policy (close East Drive from 8:00 a.m. to at least 20 minutes after the final bell). Trustees acknowledged the concerns and advised staff follow up; no formal action or vote was taken during the meeting.
Supporting details and claims: Paymer argued that although cars comprised only ~1% of users in her tally, cars carry “energy multiple orders of magnitude higher than the cyclists” and thus threaten many more students if a collision occurs; Ferguson referenced a recent hit‑and‑run in which a driver relied on a Tesla autopilot and struck a student on a bike.
Next steps: parents asked the district to install bollards at specific locations, to coordinate with city street design staff and to enforce parking/no‑parking rules that speakers said are currently ignored. Board members referred the requests to staff for review.
Ending: the board heard the comments and asked staff for follow‑up on safety remedies; no timeline or cost estimate was provided at the meeting.
