Enforcement against apron parking in the North Village was supposed to take effect on August 1, but reports from observers and long-term residents indicate that little has changed.
Flint Dille, a long-term North Village resident and vocal supporter of apron parking, said he has not noticed any additional ticketing of apron-parked vehicles since enforcement was planned to take effect.
“My hope is that if anyone is ticketed, it’s people who are actually blocking the sidewalk,” Dille said.
Alex Fay, a former UCLA student who now works in the office of City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, said he believes the enforcement has been “rare and inconsistent,” just like it has been in the past year.
Fay attributes the delay in enforcement to a motion filed by City Councilman Jack Weiss, whose district includes UCLA and Westwood Village. The motion proposes to make apron parking legal in Los Angeles, as long as parked cars do not impede access to the sidewalk and street.
Fay said he believes the city council’s transportation committee will hear the motion in late November.
Lisa Hansen, a spokeswoman for Weiss, said she did not believe there were any notable updates since last summer on apron parking, and said that little would change until after the motion is heard.
Professor Donald Shoup of the UCLA Department of Urban Planning has been following the developments closely and said he believes the rumored enforcement dates were all myths.
The supposed date for enforcement has been delayed several times since October 2006, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Shoup said he was not opposed to apron parking in general, but only when the spaces hampered access for the disabled.
“I think what may absolutely affect apron parking in Los Angeles is a potential lawsuit on behalf of the disabled,” he said.
He estimated that only two percent of the cars in the North Village use apron parking spaces, and a small addition of car-sharing services could eliminate the need for those spaces.
“The biggest benefit of car-sharing is that it would help a lot of people who can’t necessarily afford a car,” Shoup said.
Fay said the city council’s transportation committee is considering implementing an on-street car-sharing pilot program in West Los Angeles.
“I believe that 10 car-sharing vehicles, placed conveniently throughout the North Village neighborhood would give many residents a cost-effective alternative to owning a private car, reducing the parking crunch,” he said.
Long-term North Village resident Roxane Stern said the decision for which Los Angeles neighborhood gets the pilot program will be decided in November.
Stern said she realized a car-sharing service is not the answer for everyone, and she said other possibilities for residents include permit parking and tandem parking.
Dille said he feels there is a pause in the apron parking debate because Michael Dukakis, an opponent of apron parking in the North Village, is out of town.
If and when the issue heats up again, Dille said his group of neighborhood residents is prepared to fight to keep their parking spaces.