Immediately at 3:33 p.m., groups of students flock to Downtown Berkeley parking garages to drive home. Driving at a young age is a marker of independence and maturity — teens are able to get their licenses at the age of 16 and can drive themselves to school. Although permitted to drive at a young age, Berkeley High School students should only drive to school if necessary, not for recreation or self-interest. Instead of reliance on parking garage passes, or the expectancy of building of student parking lots, students should turn to the accessible public transportation methods the city of Berkeley and AC transit offers.
“I definitely think (the parking garage passes) are too expensive for what they are," BHS junior Erin Liao said. Liao drives to school every day, and parks in the garage on Kittredge and Milvia. Additionally, focus on parking accessibility should be directed towards teachers. “I believe that putting teachers first should be our biggest priority. I mean, there are so many teachers who have a car and still don't drive to school because of the teacher parking and how it's just not big enough,” Liao said.
“Some people see taking public transportation as like an underclassman thing, which I think is stigmatized,” Liao said, sharing one reason students may be deterred from taking public transportation to school, despite its accessibility. However, AC transit has made itself exceedingly accessible to BHS students, and has routes all over Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, and more that can reach numerous neighborhoods of BHS students. Moreover, AC transit bus rides are one hundred percent free for any BHS student who applies for an AC transit bus pass. Public transportation in Berkeley is not only always readily available to students, but also effective and on hand to neighborhoods across the east bay.
Additionally, as the city of Berkeley enters its worst land and housing crisis in history, student parking subsidization does not need to be a priority. With average home prices now exceeding $1.3 million, the city must focus on housing subsidization for those that cannot afford expensive Berkeley homes. In the heart of Downtown Berkeley, where the housing crisis is at its worst, BHS students must not call for land to be used as a student parking lot, or expect funds to be allocated towards student parking subsidization.
“I could imagine there being a lot of frustration if student parking is prioritized when so few staff members even have access to the parking lot... it would probably be better for staff to have their parking prioritized,” Mire Vu-Beavers, a BHS junior that drives to school every day, said.
Students have the liberty to decide their transportation, and to ask students to completely stop driving to school would be unfair. If a guardian is unavailable to drive, or if public transit options are unavailable and students have access to a car, driving themselves to school in order to access their education is vital and should not be denied. However, students should not expect student-designated lots, discounts, or city subsidization. The city of Berkeley already operates on a narrow budget, and should not be expected to give free parking when so many options are already available. Students should look to free and accessible public transit options if worried about parking affordability.