A Los Angeles City Council committee approved a motion today that could lead to return of ticketing for parking on parkways.
While many Angelenos might be unaware, parking on the space between the curb and the sidewalk has been allowed since 2011, when the city temporarily suspended enforcement in response to complaints about tickets being issued to cars parked on the so-called "apron" of driveways, the area of the driveway below the sidewalk.
An unintended consequence of the move was that the city also stopped enforcing parkway parking, and word spread, with drivers in some neighborhoods soon regularly parking on parkways, destroying curbs and landscaping in the process.
"The longstanding parkway parking policy has created visual blight in our neighborhoods," said Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, who introduced the motion. "Trees, plants, and landscaping have been destroyed, impacting the quality of life in our communities."
The motion approved by the Transportation Committee directs the City Attorney's Office to draft an ordinance making it illegal to park any vehicle in the area of the road right-of-way between the sidewalk and the curb.
The original motion seeking clarification on the definition of "parkway" was introduced by then-Councilman Bill Rosendahl in 2011. Rosendahl served on the council until 2013 and died last year.
After Rosendahl's motion, the effort to address apron and parkway parking stalled until the office of City Attorney Mike Feuer finally drafted a new ordinance last year defining a "parkway" as the area of the street between the back of the curb and the sidewalk while prohibiting vehicles to be parked there.
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Although the draft ordinance does not define apron parking specifically, Tony Arranaga, communications director for O'Farrell, said Feuer's office was "nervous" about the definitions of apron parking and parkway parking, so O'Farrell introduced a new motion in April that just focuses on parkway parking. That new motion is the one passed Wednesday by the Transportation Committee.
"Vehicles do not belong on our parkways," O'Farrell said. "The practice to relax enforcement also runs counter to our goals for improved pedestrian accessibility, and has damaged public rights of way that the city spends millions to maintain."
"I am looking forward to reinstating enforcement as soon as possible," he said.
