Scarce spots force improvisation

People who deliver food have a special challenge when they come to Westwood. They have to find the right building, figure out how to get in, call the resident, and deliver giant bags of food while they’re still hot. Of course, this is after completing the most difficult task in Westwood: finding a parking spot.

Many residences do not have enough spaces for the residents, so restaurant delivery drivers are forced to resort to a race against time and parking enforcement just to do their jobs.

“We do have a lot of guys just park on the curb and leave their hazard lights on,” said Tom Swanson, an assistant manager in field operations for LABite.com, a service that picks up food from restaurants and makes deliveries to customers.

He said the drivers do occasionally face legal and financial ramifications.

“Some of them do get tickets. It’s kind of like a business hazard,” Swanson added.

George Hernandez, one of the drivers for Jose Bernstein’s on Broxton Avenue, said there were no places set aside for people who make deliveries in Westwood.

“We don’t have parking, just the street,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez added that drivers occasionally have to bend parking laws to find a spot.

“Sometimes (we park) on the red lines … sometimes in another (resident’s) spot,” Hernandez said.

Bruno Zaninia, a manager for Gourmet Go, another service that offers pickup and delivery to and from the Westwood area, said his company faces similar problems.

“It’s really hard to find a parking spot. (We use) red curbs, always. But (the drivers have) got to go really fast,” Zanini said.

One popular Westwood eatery has found a unique way around the problem. California Pizza Kitchen, located on Broxton Avenue, started making deliveries by bicycle last spring.

“Trying to find parking in Westwood for five minutes … (is) kind of impossible,” said Rick Tademaru, a manager at California Pizza Kitchen.

The restaurant decided to begin delivery services to Westwood addresses so customers would not have to face the inconvenience of picking up their food.

“The main reason we did it is to accommodate our guests, because we have local businesses who can’t leave for lunch,” Tademaru said.

According to Tademaru, the restaurant decided to use bicycle deliveries since bicycles are not subject to the parking restrictions that cars face.

“They just park on the street for the most part,” Tademaru said.

Tatiana Chiriac, the manager of Westwood Plaza Apartments on Gayley Avenue, said her building does not have a separate space for deliveries.

“We don’t have a parking space for any deliveries of the food, because we don’t even have (enough) parking for the tenants,” Chiriac said.

Despite the myriad parking restrictions, the drivers do find ways to get the job done.

“All the guys have little tricks they use. It’s kind of a culture (unto) itself,” Swanson said. “A lot of these guys are professional drivers, so they figure out certain ways.”

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