City of Santa Clara Reinstates Residential Parking Permits

Students express concerns regarding the city’s plan to combat street parking by non-residents

As of Jan. 2, 2023, the Santa Clara police department has begun to issue permit violations for those without a Residential Parking Permit (RPP). 

The RPP is a program that neighborhoods can opt into, especially if their ability to access on-street parking close to their house is being impacted by those who do not reside in the neighborhood. Many streets in Santa Clara will be impacted, including the Alameda, Alviso, Bellomy, Lafayette and Market.

After an individual registers a car for the RPP program, the license plate will act as the permit to prevent fraudulence. According to an email sent by Santa Clara’s Parking and Transportation Office, “the program is intended to deter long-term on-street parking and discourage overflow parking on residential streets.”

Although obtaining a permit is stated on the City of Santa Clara Police Department’s website as optional, residents will not be allowed to park on the street without one. If a license plate on the street is scanned and not associated with a registered permit, a citation will be issued.

For many commuter students, the reintroduction of permit enforcement will require them to buy permits in Santa Clara’s parking garages.

“On the streets, Santa Clara is allowed to tow because you need certain residential permits to park there,” said Tripti Pandey, president of the Commuter Student Union. 

Parking on residential streets wasn’t an issue for the past few years—SCPD loosened their enforcement of permits following stay-at-home orders and staffing issues caused by COVID-19. 

Most commuter students that bring their own car to campus already buy monthly or yearly on-campus permits provided by SCU that allow them to park in on-campus parking garages. Due to the sheer volume of permits being bought, the Commuter Student Union, which has about 300 members, is pushing the administration to reduce the cost of parking.

Parking permits for commuter students currently range from $75-400. Off-campus students are also severely impacted by the new enforcement of the RPP program.

Though the program is meant to give neighborhood residents a better chance at parking near their homes, it still doesn’t guarantee a space.

Junior Nikhita Mathur, who lives a few streets away from Santa Clara’s campus, touched on some of the struggles she and her neighborhood face.

“There is a limit on the number of passes you can get, so houses with more people often are stuck,” said Mathur. “I bought a residential pass for the year because our driveway can only hold one car but, some days I still have to park on a neighboring street and there is a chance that on those days, I’ll get ticketed.”

While the program does make finding parking spaces easier, the actual logistics may be financially inaccessible.

“I think the fact that we have to pay $30 per car to park in front of our own homes is a little absurd,” said Mathur.