Parking under fire @supost.com

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Date: Mon, Dec 11, 2006, 08:00 AM

Starting in January, the city of Los Angeles will begin ticketing North Westwood Village residents for apron parking, the term used to describe cars which are parked in driveways between the street and the sidewalk. Students, faculty and other members of the UCLA community have encouraged city officials to postpone their plans until the summer in order to allow affected students to take their cars home or make other adjustments; however, there has been no indication that enforcement will be delayed. Previously, some students were hoping the city would reconsider, but now they hope to convince the city to delay enforcement. The city, however, appears reluctant to do so, since there are multiple legal and public policy issues that make them liable for lawsuits. Cars parked in the North Village recently received notes sent as a courtesy from UCLA Transportation Services, warning residents that cars illegally parked on the sidewalk, parkway or in the apron of a driveway will be ticketed. PC Zai, Facilities commissioner for the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said UCLA officials were first told the city wanted to begin enforcement in October, but convinced them to postpone enforcement until now. ?For a lot of students, this is the first time they are aware of this,? Zai said. Zai said her office collected about 900 signatures for a petition to delay apron parking enforcement until June, which will be turned into City Councilman Jack Weiss? office today. ?The next couple of months will be pretty rough,? Zai said. She noted that Transportation Services added about 100 more parking spots for the winter quarter in an attempt to relieve increased demand for parking that will result from enforcement. Though apron parking is considered illegal in the state, it has been unenforced for years because of the lack of alternative parking available in Westwood. Michael Dukakis, a former presidential candidate and professor in the UCLA School of Public Affairs, and Donald Shoup, an urban planning professor in the UCLA School of Public Affairs, have been largely credited for bringing the issue to the city?s attention. Both professors support delaying enforcement until June. Shoup said he first began working with Dukakis on the issue of apron parking two years ago. He said Dukakis, who lives in North Village for a few months during the year when teaching at UCLA, considered it a ?blight? to see so many cars parked on the sidewalk. ?Every university community has this problem,? Dukakis said. ?There?s a limit to how many cars you can accommodate in any community.? Shoup, who is the author of the book ?The High Cost of Free Parking,? in which he argues for reforming parking regulations in the United States, said the students in his urban transportation and economics course have been researching the issue since spring quarter 2005. His students released a report compiling their data, research and interviews. In North Village, there are 857 legal curb parking spaces for 5,879 vehicles, according to the U.S. Census data included in the report. Many affected students have expressed frustration and confusion over the plans from the city. Alex Fay, a fourth-year history student, lives in North Village and is one of many students trying to address the issue. Fay said he first decided to get involved after his roommate received one of the letters about apron parking enforcement. He said started a Facebook group, which has over 200 members and has been in contact with many city officials, including Weiss, on behalf of affected students. ?It?s unreasonable to change (policy) within one to two months without public notification or hearings,? Fay said. ?The right thing to do is treat it as if it was a new law.? Fay said the city has not informed residents in a timely manner and believes the city has not considered the interests of the area?s largely student population. He said he encouraged North Village residents to write letters to Weiss expressing their concern. Fay said his communication with city officials has led him to believe that while some officials support initiatives to delay enforcement, it will be difficult to postpone enforcement as the city will be liable for lawsuits associated with continued apron parking. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to sidewalks, meaning that cities must ensure sidewalks are accessible to people with disabilities. Also, the California Vehicle Code does not allow for cars to park on sidewalks, Shoup said. While legally, cars that do not park over the sidewalk or onto streets are fine, some cars that park on the aprons in the North Village extend over the sidewalk and will be liable to be ticketed, according to Shoup. He said it is therefore not only a legal issue for the city, but a matter of public policy. Some students argue that more people will be affected by the loss of parking spots as a result of apron parking enforcement than are currently affected by obstructed sidewalks. But Shoup pointed out that out of about 11,000 North Village residents, 200 cars are parked on the curb and half of North Village residents do not have a car. Census data reports that about 1,000 residents, or 9 percent, of North Village are people with disabilities. ?We have to consider the welfare of everybody in the North Village, including those who do not have an off-street parking space,? Shoup said. Shoup compared UCLA?s accessible accommodations on campus to the need to enforce apron parking laws in Westwood. ?UCLA is very hospitable to students with disabilities. It?s quite a contrast with the surrounding neighborhood,? he said, pointing out the multiple ramps and other accommodations on campus. Shoup said while some students may be displeased with the prospect of change, he believes the introduction of apron parking enforcement in June would both help people with disabilities and improve the neighborhood as a whole. ?I think if enforcement is introduced during the summer, that students would come into (North Village) next year, never knowing that apron parking was allowed and would appreciate an improved and better environment,? he said. Many students sign leases that include parking as part of their rent and some may be paying to apron park illegally. Shoup feels it is unfair to charge residents without cars the same rent as residents who need a parking space. He hopes landlords will charge people without cars less rent, making North Village more desirable for students who do not drive. Many members of the UCLA community have proposed various solutions to lessen the demand for curb parking. One alternative suggested by many, including Shoup?s students, is to use city-issued permits for curb spaces while converting others to hourly paid parking. Shoup said the city should charge the same rate UCLA charges for permits and use the money for safety and security in the North Village. Another idea is to have campus shuttles run to the apartments. Zai said her office will be meeting with Transportation Services to advocate for the shuttles next quarter. Dukakis proposes allowing people to park parallel to the sidewalk on the apron. This practice is currently permitted in single-family residences in neighborhoods such as Hermosa Beach. Other ideas include converting some streets into one-way lanes to allow space for parallel parking and adding FlexCar, an hourly car-rental service, to North Village. <a href='; target='_blank'>;