One of the most prominent modes of transportation to Portola High is the use of bikes and scooters.  They represent an important part of the school environment, being a major alternative to automobiles. However, a current ongoing issue regarding the use of bikes and scooters is the lack of parking for them, which commonly forces people to lock down their bikes or scooters wherever there is space.

In the present day, there are so many bikes and scooters that it is not uncommon for people to park their bikes by simply wrapping their locks around the wheels, putting them wherever there is a bit of space, according to Mrs. Elgohary, Portola High’s Campus Control Assistant. Portola High regularly sees around 500 to 700 electric bikes and scooters, along with regular bikes, according to an estimate by Portola Assistant Principal James Coney, 

“It’s absolute chaos,” senior Soheil Sadegh said. “I believe that it would be a more, y’know, efficient storing situation if people actually put their bikes on the racks instead of just leaving them stranded.” 

The simple solution might be to buy more bike racks; there will not be an issue with parking if there is enough parking for everyone. But the problem with buying more bike racks is that there is not a lot of space to expand. The administration, too, acknowledges this issue.

“We have a lot of bikes here, which is great. But we have limited room. So it’s very difficult to expand over by the football field because there is not a whole lot of area,” Coney said.

“I believe that it can be improved, if all of the bike racks were put parallel to each other facing the art room bathrooms, because then that would allow for more bike racks to be stored. So if they were to just flip the bike racks, like a whole 180 degrees towards the art room it would fit more bike racks, and it would certainly decrease traffic,” Sadegh said.

“The plans are to continue to buy as many bikes racks as is necessary, so kids can lock them up properly.  We want to avoid students locking their bikes up on the fences,” Coney said.

The issue of parking racks is one that affects hundreds at Portola High, even if others do not seem to care much about it. So the students can have more peace of mind, administration should make improving the parking racks a higher priority.