One of my pet peeves about our fair city are all of the varying parking restrictions around town. I have written in the past that something needs to be done about them — I think they are anti-business; people need to be able to park on the streets in order to patronize local stores and restaurants.
One area that really gets to me is the area around Melrose Ave, between Fairfax and La Brea. Most of the streets have restricted parking after 6pm, others 8pm. You can park and walk a couple of blocks if you want avoid paying a valet at any of the bars and restaurants. Yet if you go down the streets they are virtually empty — most people park in their own driveways. There is no reason to have the restrictions.
Well, common sense has finally prevailed. I was parking on Fuller on Sunday afternoon when I saw this sign:
You can now park until midnight on at least Fuller, Martel and Vista (I didn’t go up and down every street, but some have retained the old restrictions), south of Melrose. As an apparent compromise to homeowners, the later restriction is only in place on one side of the street; the other side is still no parking after 6pm or 8pm.
This will have a absolutely no impact on homeowners but will have a positive effect on businesses. I think more people will now go out in the area if they know they can easily park for free.
So common sense exists in Los Angeles. Who knew?