Parking headaches abound Westwood, on campus

Thursday, December 1, 1994

Parking headaches abound Westwood, on campus

Students complain about limited space and costly tickets

By Naoki Naruse

Tomoko Yamura and her friend recently went to Westwood to buy pizza. They took a car, assuming that would be more convenient than walking. Before long, however, Yamura, a fourth-year economics student, noticed that they had made a big mistake.

"While my friend went into a pizza shop, I had to wait in the car. I couldn't find a parking space," Yamura said. "I ended up driving around the same block six times."

But many said even if you get a parking space, you still have to worry about how long you can stay there. "Some of (the meters) are 30 minutes," said first-year political science student Brandi Wojcik. "So I have to run into the store, get stuff, run back out, put more money and run back in again. It's kind of a pain."

Why is it so stressful to park in Westwood? One reason many cited is limited parking spaces in the area.

"Because of much expansion of business, many private properties can't provide parking spaces. It's really expensive (to build parking spaces)," said Rafael Prepena, a transportation engineer at the city's Office of Parking Management.

Still, some people never have to worry about a lack of parking space.

"If you have a preferential parking permit, you can park on a street for 24 hours except during street cleaning," said officials at the Department of Transportation's western division. A preferential permit, issued by the Department of Transportation, allows residents in designated districts to park on certain streets.

UCLA students have been ineligible to obtain these since 1979, when residents in Westwood complained about non-resident students parking and taking up their spaces, Prepena said.

Public vehicles owned by city or state agencies are also exempt from parking restrictions ­ signified by a circled "E" on their plates. They are cleared from both preferential parking limits and meter parking restrictions, Prepena said.

Important foreign figures such as diplomats have similar privileges. They can park at meter parking zones without bothering to put in any quarters. They carry special license plates issued by the United States government, officials at the Office of Parking Management said.

Despite the benefits of parking permits, though, some preferential permit holders are not as privileged as it might sound.

Kenji Tanaka, a first year Ph.D. student in material science and engineering parks his car, with his preferential permit, on Durant Drive in Beverly Hills.

However, he has to move it every morning before 8 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday for street cleaning. One morning he was 15 minutes late to move his car. "A parking enforcement officer is waiting right there at the corner at 8 every morning," Tanaka said. "I found out I had got ticketed at 8:07."

Tanaka was lucky in some respects, though. His $38 ticket was comparatively cheap.

Parking in handicapped zones without a proper permit earns a $330 fine, Fortier said. And the Parking Enforcement Office at Transportation Services is instituting a new program regarding fraudulent use of a disabled person's placards or license plates. Starting in January 1995, the fine will be $500, she said.

Even without tickets, though, parking is rarely ­ if ever ­ free and simple.

When the university or its academic departments invite guests to special events on campus, they arrange special parking services for the guests beforehand. They can offer them courtesy permits. In this case, the guests do not have to pay for the parking services, but the university or the departments do.

No one gets free parking, no matter how important they are, said Gary Streaty, field manager at UCLA Parking Services. President Bill Clinton had to pay for the special parking services when he came to campus last spring.

In fact, fighting potential tickets seems to be as difficult as fighting the lack of space, students said. Yamura relayed a story about the time she parked her car on a street over night. The following morning she found a parking violation ticket resting on the car's front shield.

"I was surprised because I thought I was sure I wouldn't get ticketed," she said. "I didn't see any signs on the street." It was only after she got the ticket that she found a sign for two hour limit parking far at the corner of Kelton and Gayley avenues.

According to the many stories frustrated students told, parking problems know no boundaries. In addition to Westwood's lack of parking, students also suffer from limited parking spaces on campus.

Jenny Manzer, who did not get a parking permit for this quarter, has been parking her car on Hilgard Avenue, where there are no limits.

But she has not used the car at all for almost the whole quarter because she said she has been afraid to lose her parking spot. "Once I moved my car, and it took me hours to find one (again)," said Manzer, a senior anthropology student. "At times, I didn't see my car for weeks. I was afraid that it would get broken into."

Each parking structure on campus has to have empty spots (3 to 5 percent of the total parking space) for structure users, according to Renee Fortier, associate director at UCLA Parking Services.

To solve parking problems on campus, Parking Services will issue over 1,000 more parking permits in Lot 3 next fall mainly for students. And after the Anderson School's construction finishes, about 200 spaces in Lot 4 and 6, which are now occupied by constructors and construction workers, will be freed up for students next fall, Fortier said.