Prof. Shoup’s Campaign Against Sidewalk Parking Around UCLA

Prof. Donald Shoup in the Dept. of Urban Planning has been campaigning to end illegal parking on the sidewalks around the UCLA campus. Prof. Shoup, the author of The High Cost of Free Parking, began trying to get Jack Weiss – when he was the LA City councilman for the area – to have the police enforce the law against such parking. Parking on sidewalks blocks access for ordinary pedestrians and, particularly, for handicapped persons. A lawsuit against the City has been filed on that basis.

Let’s just say that when Weiss was in office, he was not known for responsiveness. There is now a new city councilman, Paul Koretz, and Prof. Shoup has continued his campaign, as per below. You might be interested:

Dear Councilmember Koretz,

I have attached two photographs I took of cars parked on the sidewalk in North Westwood Village today, Thursday, September 23. None of the many cars illegally parked on the sidewalks in North Westwood Village had a citation, but every car parked at the curb on the other side of the street had a citation for parking on the street during street-cleaning hours.

You may not be aware of the many emails and letters sent to your predecessor, Jack Weiss, about how parking on a sidewalk violates both the California Vehicle Code and the Los Angeles Municipal Code. More important, the City’s policy of not citing cars that block the sidewalks in North Westwood Village may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that sidewalks be accessible. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Barden v. Sacramento sets a nationwide precedent requiring cities to make all public sidewalks accessible. As a result, cities must remove barriers that block disabled access along the length of the sidewalks. Here is the link to an ADA lawsuit filed against Los Angeles; on pages 10–11 it specifically mentions parking on the sidewalks in North Westwood Village as a barrier to travel by persons with disabilities:
http://www.its.ucla.edu/shoup/PinedaVsCityOfLosAngeles.pdf

In case this issue has escaped your notice, here is the link to copies of letters and e-mails sent to Jack Weiss, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, and Mayor Villaraigosa about illegal parking on Los Angeles sidewalks: http://www.its.ucla.edu/shoup/CorrespondenceAboutADA.pdf

If you or any of your staff are concerned about general issue of accessible sidewalks, here is the link to a recent article on repairing broken sidewalks in Los Angeles:
http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/PuttingCitiesBackOnTheirFeet.pdf

Donald Shoup, Professor