Font ResizeAlthough school district officials tweaked plans for a parking lot project at Sequoia High School in response to complaints, residents on adjacent Elwood Street aren't exactly appeased.
Some still see the spectre of a big traffic mess, even though the Sequoia Union High School District decided Wednesday against adding a second driveway that neighbors had complained would spill cars onto their residential street in Redwood City.
The district is hoping to expand a faculty parking lot on the Sequoia High campus and re-do a maintenance vehicle lot before students return Aug. 21.
Because the two lots would be combined, more traffic will head to a small driveway on the west side of the campus, Elwood Street residents said.
"That could radically increase the amount of traffic flow on this street," Josh Klein said. "We already believe it's pretty awful."
Elwood Street residents say they already have to deal with speeding teenagers and occasional traffic jams.
District and city officials said they don't think traffic will significantly worsen.
"We're certain that the impact will be insignificant," said district Superintendent Pat Gemma. "There's plenty of capacity on Elwood."
Klein said the district should have done traffic studies or an environmental impact report to confirm that traffic would not increase.
Those studies weren't done, Gemma acknowledged, but the district "followed all of our required
Initial plans called for all traffic to enter the lots on James Street and exit on Elwood, but the updated plans allow for a widened driveway on James to allow entry and exit traffic.
A small parking lot near the gym will be eliminated, but the faculty lot behind the district office will be enlarged into part of a softball field, resulting in the same number of parking spots.
Some neighbors would like a barrier between the two lots so the traffic flow is not combined, but Gemma said that's out of the question.
"That's not efficient or effective for the other constituencies we're responsible for, i.e. our students and our staff," he said.
Neighbors have pleaded for the city to step in, but the state architect has jurisdiction over school district projects, not the city, said Peter Vorametsanti, a senior civil engineer.
This first phase of a multiyear project funded by the $165 million Measure J bond also includes replacing old tennis courts and building a permanent teen wellness center on James Avenue.
Mayor Rosanne Foust said the parking lot dispute will appear for the first time on the City Council's agenda Monday as an informational item.
Foust said she realizes the city doesn't have jurisdiction over the project. "I don't want to use that as an excuse," she said. "I want to work it out."
