Redwood High School along with the Central Marin Police Department recently developed a new parking policy that will begin in 2019. Like Tam, Redwood suffers from a shortage of parking spaces combined with increased enrollment. In response, the school has decided to issue parking permits to students who commit to carpooling — carrying three or more people in a car. The remaining permits will then be distributed to seniors through a lottery process. Juniors will only be able to park on campus if there are any remaining permits. There will no longer be off-campus lunch once this parking policy is implemented, according to the Student Parking Policies and Procedures page on Redwood’s website.

“We’ve had members of the Larkspur community call and/or email our school, concerned about students illegally parking in the neighborhood, driving recklessly, littering and being disrespectful in the neighborhood,” the administration stated in a press release posted on the Redwood website.

This new parking policy will affect many students whose only means of transportation is themselves and who often have to travel far each morning.

“We are getting older, and are having more and more activities before and after school. Many of our parents work and can’t drive us to and from school every day,” Redwood junior Tatum Shaver said.

Violation of the parking policies will result in consequences such as a revocation of the parking permit, a parking ticket issued by the Central Marin Police Authority and other repercussions depending on the number of offenses.

Tam has also experienced problems with the parking situation, and this new policy could influence other schools in the district to follow the same approach. However, the district has no intention at this point to implement this at Tam. “With enrollment growth and the budget situation, parking had to be put on the back burner,”  principal J.C. Farr said.

Photo courtesy of Tam News archives.