City
Council rules in favor of new parking restrictions
By
Heather Lacayo
On-line Forty-Niner
In
response to citizens unhappy with the increasing
number of students parking in their neighborhoods,
the Long Beach City Council approved the
proposed extension of Preferential Parking
District "P" to include an immediate
addition of Vista Street between Daroca
and Linares Avenues.
The
new preferential parking will restrict parking
to a one-hour maximum and require residents
to purchase parking permits in the area.
The proposed extension included a provision
to allow additional preferential parking
to residents on specified streets with the
circulation of additional petitions, waiving
the need for the residents to appear again
before the city council. The additional
streets include: a portion of Daroka Avenue,
Laurinda, Linares, Peralta, Silvera, Mariquita,
Eliot, Colorado, Vermont Avenues, Fifth
Street and a small portion of Sixth Street.
Cal
State Long Beach students are occupying
parking spots in the neighborhood, area
residents said.
"They
come in with their fast food cartons and
they throw them out in the streets,"
Daroka Street resident Walter Smith said.
"They're in their cars, they're making
love...It's a real disgrace to the neighborhood."
Rob
Clark, another Daroka Street resident, wants
restricted parking for "a couple of
blocks. Vista gets pretty crazy," he
said, "...speeding, litter, cars and
RV's parked overnight and days on end...
[have resulted in an] increase in minor
theft."
The
proposition was approved with a vote of
seven to zero with council members Uranga
and Webb absent from the vote.
"[The]
quiet and solitude of the neighborhood is
deserving of [preferential parking],"
said Vice Mayor Frank Colonna who cited
a need to "get the point across to
the students that they need to park on campus."
The
city traffic engineer had notified 266 area
residents by mail within the proposed extended
boundaries. Notes to the mayor and city
council include approximately 31 responses
by residents. The city council office fielded
"more than 30 calls," Calonna
said.
One
Vista resident spoke in opposition to the
expansion of preferential parking.
"Public streets belong to the public,"
Adrian Horry said. "This would extend
private property rights to the street. The
other citizens of our country should be
allowed to park."
Horry
offered solutions to student parking as
"the area north of Kittering School
is vacant and would hold 100 cars."
He said he had not been affected negatively
by students parking in the area and believed
that preferential parking is "not right."
No
CSULB students voiced an opinion at the
council meeting.
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