The neighbors of Dodger Stadium frustrated over game-day traffic and a lack of parking are trying a new strategy to deal with the hordes of baseball fans: Fool them. Or, at least try. In Solano Canyon, just east of the stadium, new white and red signs reading "Resident Parking Only" have been posted along Academy Road and Solano Avenue. Echo Park residents on the other side of the stadium want them, too. The problem is the signs are fake, printed up and posted by residents themselves.* "We are seeking some relief," said one resident.The people of parking-challenged Solano Canyon are not the only ones trying to fake out the fans. On many game days, motorists who turn on to Lilac Terrace in Echo Park have taken a detour after encountering a plastic traffic barricade in the middle of the street and a man wearing a vest trimmed in highway-worker orange. But the guy who asks drivers if they live on the street is not a city traffic cop. He, and another man stationed at the other end of the street, are neighbors who are also fed up with game-day parking shortag
es and traffic, said one resident. In fact, these fake traffic cops have issued fake passes - pink and green index cards stamped with a variety of Looney Tunes characters, including the Tasmanian Devil - to many of their neighbors so they can get through the barricade without being questioned."So, all the neighbors have these cute index cards," she said. "We put them on our windshields."
The fake check points on Lilac Terrace and the D.I.Y. signs in Solano Canyon reflect growing neighborhood frustration as Dodger Stadium's $15 parking rate has pushed many fans to look for free parking on nearby streets. Residents, however, are not the only one playing games with the fans. Many point out that the "Local Traffic Only" signs posted by the city on some streets are not enforceable. The young police Explorer scouts, often seen shivering in the evening cold, stationed near some of the signs also have no authority to stop motorists who want to drive through.
With City Hall and the Dodgers unable or unwilling to spend money on traffic and parking control measures that m
ean something, residents say they are on their own. "We are kind of left to do what we have to do," said the resident from Solano Canyon.But it seems that many Dodger fans are not being fooled by the charade. When the Solano Canyon resident pointed out the fake "Resident Only Parking" sign to a fan parking his car, the man replied: "I will take my chances."
* Update: City workers today removed the fake "Resident Only Parking" signs, a Solano Canyon resident reported by email tonight. No word if the city-issued "Local Traffic Only" signs that don't mean anything either are staying put.
Related story:
* Trapped in a sea of Dodger Blue. The Eastsider LA
21 comments:
Okay, but the barricades aren't fake. We're working with the city and the Dodger liason, the barricades are part of our community effort to stem the tide of parking, partying and crime on the streets around the stadium. Since they have been up the park has been significantly cleaner, the partying diminished and we don't have to have cars towed from in front of our driveways.
Dodger Stadium was built before any of these streets existed, and now the residents are making their own laws? You know they're going to start selling parking on their lawns.
Actually the nearby streets and neighborhood predate Dodger Stadium by at least forty years.
You idiots, Dodger Stadium was built in 1962 well before Echo Park or any of these streets existed- before cars existed, and then you settlers came in trying to make your own laws like your the O'Malleys or something- disgusting.
At least it won't be an issue Tues-Thurs. The Dodgers are offering free parking for the entire series against the Oakland A's.
YEah hmmmm... you're wrong, when I lived in Echo Park, my house had a cornerstone that read 1910. A number of streets all along my street and throughout the neigborhood, had the same styling. So according to your logic, its the Dodger's organization that is the disgusting one. Also they balked at paying for a shuttle service from Union Station, then decided to give up the same amount of money in revenue to encourage free parking. Thanks!
The revisionist mentality and IQ of Dodgers fans (as expressed by "Dodger Stadium was built before any of these streets existed") is reason #148 why they should level that stadium and hand the land back over to the park.
i'm not sure sure these are fake signs. garcetti's office has been working with the dodger's and i've heard some signs are legal. i think permitted parking is next. which should be the case to stem issues within the neighborhood. dodger's should respect their neighbors. actually, everyone should. it's tough to find that respect in echo park though.
So your telling me streets and cars existed before 1962? Yeah right.
I've been placing my trash cans in front of my house for years. NO ones ever said or removed my cans, thus saving my parking, I'm disabled I can't handle stairs or steep slopes which our community has much of. It doesn't make it right by law, but makes it right for me since the laws will not protect me. Remember Justice, its Just Us.
Make lemonade, people. Charge $10 for someone to park in your driveway, fans will pay it. And they'll probably give you a beer or two as a tip.
BTW unless you're a seriously old-timer reading this blog, which I doubt... did you not notice that big ol stadium behind your house before you bought or rented it??
Yes, hmmm, I believe cars and streets did exist before 1962. I believe Benz created the car in 1898. :-)
In all seriousness, though, I don't think Dodger Stadium should be leveled and rebuilt somewhere else, but we should remember that the stadium wasn't built on vacant land. People did live there prior to its construction.
Level Dodger Stadium? And what?...create a yoga studio?...or another art gallery that opens twice a month to dispense 2 Buck Chuck to a band of freeloaders? Dodger Stadium is Echo Park.
The question isn't how long the streets existed, it's how long have you been living on that street? If it's AFTER Dodger Stadium was built, you have NOTHING to compain about. You made the choice to live in a neighborhood where a high profile venue is located. It's YOUR fault you are upset with the parking situation and nobody elses. MOVE!
I live on Lilac Terrace. My house was built in 1921 (most houses on my street were built before 1930).
Dodger Stadium has parking lot. Since the price to park your car was increased to $15, fans have decided to park on the residential streets instead of using venue parking. When we moved to this area over a decade ago, when parking at the stadium was "affordable", we didn't have these problems.
The Dodger fans are often drunk and belligerent and throw their garbage on our streets and sidewalks. I am willing to blame some of the warranted "neighbor disgust" on this matter on the decline of society as a whole and an utter lack of respect for those around you.
If you do not live on these streets your opinion, in my opinion, really doesn't matter...and I like baseball.
Thanks alot for the article- our signs went bye bye the same day! We are back to square one.
hmmm, Our community was developed in 1888---- way before los dodgers. The Ravine the stadium sits in- developed in the early 1900's. If you read the history- people lived there too (mostly Mexicans)-- Evicted to built the precious temple to American baseball.... sick!
By the O'Malleys maybe?
All you gotta do, see, is convince people to carpool. Har Har.
The problem with getting to Dodger Stadium is that there are no alternatives to driving. A shuttle from Union Station is a marvelous idea, and one that needs to be seriously considered. The Hollywood Bowl is a great example of successful shuttling.
The residential permit will also work, but only if in tandem with other alternatives. Heaven forbid people quit going to the games because they have no where to park!
If you think the traffic's bad now, wait till you get a look at what the Dodgertown development is supposed to do to the neighborhood. I hope everyone in Echo Park is ready for a long, serious battle with the Dodgers who, if their owner's finances are any sign, could care less about what effect their operations--past, present, and future--have on the City of Los Angeles, and especially on the People's Republic of Echo Park.
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