Large Vehicles Banned From Beverly Glen Blvd.
Posted by Daniel Antolin on Nov 23, 2011 - 1:05:26 PM
Fifth District Councilmember Paul Koretz. Photo courtesy of his office.
WESTWOOD—During the morning of Wednesday, November 23, 12 members of the Los Angeles City Council voted to restrict large vehicles from parking on both sides of South Beverly Glen Boulevard, which is one of Westwood's high-traffic thoroughfares, from north of Wilshire Boulevard to Comstock Avenue.
Paul Koretz, who represents Los Angeles' Fifth District including
Westwood, introduced a motion that was passed on August 12 requesting that the Department of
Transportation and City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich prepare and present
an ordinance that will now prohibit such vehicles from parking along the
aforementioned street weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ordinance, the language of which was released by DOT on November 15, has changed the cap to 4 p.m.
"The increasing prevalence of commercial vehicles in some residential
areas is causing significant quality of life issues," states the motion
introduced by Koretz and co-sponsored by Bill Rosendahl, councilmember
for L.A.'s 11th District. New ordinance language states that the parking ban will provide locals
with relief from this situation caused by "oversized," not "commercial" vehicles, as originally stated in the motion.
According to an August 4 report presented by the LACC Transportation
Committee, large commercial vehicles parking in the half-mile
residential area, which does not have sidewalks, for an extended length of time have caused traffic
collisions and fender benders for years. This is because their large
size prevents drivers leaving their homes onto the street from
seeing oncoming vehicles, and they do not see children and pets walking in the parking lanes. Locals expressed these concerns to the
committee on July 27.
The ordinance will ban all
vehicles from parking along Beverly Glen Boulevard that are 22 feet in
length or more than 84 inches in height where there are posted signs. There
is no mention in the ordinance language of an earlier proposed exemption
for trucks
that enter the area to make general deliveries or for
construction/repair work. Though these are the vehicles locals oppose.
Michele
Grant, chief executive officer of The Grilled Cheese Truck, told Canyon
News in August that she was concerned about how a ban would limit her
business in that she caters events in the area. LACC members told Grant
this would also be taken into consideration as DOT and the city attorney
draft a parking ordinance, she said.She understood completely the paramount safety concerns voiced by
locals, and that this is not being driven by a NIMBY attitude. "Safety is first and foremost," Grant said at the time.
She declined to comment on the ordinance's passage until she knows whether certain vehicles will be exempt. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office had not responded to Canyon News's inquiry to find this out as of press time.
But new ordinance language does indicate that people who conduct
business from big trucks parked in the area would be subject to the new
law. This is because they litter adjacent homes' front lawns and attract
customers who loiter, the ordinance states. Another complaint is that they cause noise that echoes throughout the canyon area.
Evelyn J. Alexander, Residents of Beverly Glen, Inc. traffic committee chairman, told Canyon News, "Residents of Beverly Glen, representing
the community north of Sunset,
hopes that with this new ordinance in place, trucks will be less likely
to cut through our canyon if they are not allowed to park on Beverly
Glen immediately south of our community."
Beverly Glen Boulevard's location makes it vulnerable to a high volume
of through traffic. Along with Sepulveda Boulevard and the I-405
Freeway, it is one of three major routes that connect West Los Angeles
to the San Fernando Valley. Commuters use this street and Sepulveda
Boulevard to get by in lieu of the I-405 Freeway as it undergoes construction and when it becomes overly
congested.
In 2002, the Los Angeles Police Department West L.A. and Valley Traffic
divisions formed a special task force to help reduce traffic collisions
on Beverly Glen Boulevard, and they continue to issue tickets to 6,000-pound trucks that pass through the area. These collisions are caused by the drivers
who commit traffic violations out of the 27,000 others that travel
through the street on a daily basis.
"Built in the early 1900's and last repaved over 25 years
ago, Beverly Glen was not engineered to handle the heavy truck traffic
that we now see on a daily basis," Alexander said. "Truck traffic should continue to be
routed to use the freeways and major arterials, not residential canyon
communities."
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