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.