Once the parking along Eucalyptus is filled, students must travel all the way to 24th Avenue, as parking elsewhere in the neighborhood is forbidden for more than two hours. This parking rule is inconvenient and unnecessary. Some students resort to two-hour parking, but this is a temporary fix. They have to repark during passing periods, oftentimes more than a block away. Some students have trouble keeping the two-hour and street cleaning restrictions straight; one of my best friends managed to get 13 tickets over a period of three months. Easing up on the neighborhood’s two-hour parking restrictions should be considered. Students would have less need to park on Eucalyptus in the morning and it would take some of the mob of cars out of the morning mess.

Parents add to the Eucalyptus congestion by insisting on dropping their kids off in front of the main entrance. Others park illegally by the Ts’ and block traffic along Lake Merced Drive, which poses a hazard. Parents seem to be willing to sit through 15 minutes of gridlock to make sure their student is let out at the Forest View-Eucalyptus intersection. The parents should take advantage of Ocean’s wide lanes or Sloat’s obvious drop-off advantages; it is only a two-block walk for the student. My grandparents walked five miles in the snow; two blocks shouldn’t hurt. Alternate drop-off zones would speed things up not only for a late child, but also for all of the student drivers who would then be able to move through the area much more quickly.

School is hard enough. The ability to drive oneself instead of relying on public transportation should make mornings easier, but instead the combination of parents and parking restrictions make for a tough morning commute. The early morning drop-off situation is in need of serious overhaul.