Ulises Villavicencio, a freshman psychology major, had trouble finding parking on the second day of classes. In the end, he went into a neighborhood near campus, moved some trash cans and parked on the street. He came back to find a citation on his car, which was partially extended over a driveway.
“I had no choice,” he said. “There was no parking at all.”
Villavicencio’s experience is an example of the tension existing between students looking for parking and Long Beach residents wanting their streets clear.
This semester, as a result of the tension, the City of Long Beach requested the college place “no student parking” signs on some of the streets surrounding campus.
The signs, which have been present for most of the semester, are supposed to be placed in “parking permit areas,” according to Long Beach councilman Patrick O’Donnell. In parking permit areas, street parking is reserved for residents who display special permits in their cars.
According to CSULB Police Chief Stan Skipworth, the “no student parking” supplement residential permit signs already in place.
“The signs by the city [are] pretty clear,” Skipworth said. “We just put bigger signs out to help inform people that you really want to avoid this because you are subject to a ticket.”
O’Donnell said a neighborhood meeting several months ago brought problems with the parking situation to the surface.
“It was the most vociferous and emotion-filled meeting I have been to or have put on during my council tenure,” he said. “Neighbors are not happy about the impact of the students parking in their neighborhoods.”
Students had mixed opinions about the situation.
Alexis Corona, a freshman cell and molecular biology major, said she thought residents should have the right to protect their parking spots, although she added that the “parking on campus sucks.”
Rowel Ramirez, a junior math and economics major, said residents should have considered the situation before moving in.
The city contacted the college with a number of options to deal with the parking situation, O’Donnell said.
“What you’re seeing is the university and the city starting to work together, which is a good thing,” the councilman said.
O’Donnell said the signs have proven effective.
“They have absolutely improved the quality of life [in the] Los Altos area by sending students to other, non-permitted areas,” he said.
Skipworth said he wasn’t sure how long the signs would remain up, but that they have been very helpful so far.
“I do think that there will come a time when it is less necessary than it is now,” he said.
The placement of the signs does raise a few questions, however.
One issue is that, even in parking permit areas, some non-residential parking may be allowed.
According to Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jackie Bezart, in most parking permit areas, cars without permits may park for a limited time, usually an hour or two.
Skipworth said in an e-mail that “whether or not a person can park his or her car for any brief period of time should be illustrated on the city’s signs within the neighborhood.”
The city signs take precedence over the college ones, Bezart said.
Another issue is students have discovered at least one sign, on Iroquois Avenue, that is actually not in a parking permit area.
O’Donnell acknowledged a few signs may be incorrectly placed, but said they were probably a mistake.
Both O’Donnell and Skipworth emphasized the signs were not placed with the intention of hassling students.
“The goal here is not to cite students,” O’Donnell said. “The goal is for students to find parking so they can get a quality education.”
He added that “the university and the city will continue to work together to find alternatives that will provide more parking for the students.”
Skipworth said he does not want students to get tickets or be frustrated about parking. However, he also pointed out another goal for the campus.
“We want to continue to be very good neighbors with the people of this portion of Long Beach,” he said.
