Record of a Parking Violator(s)

Q & A From A Reader

I received an e-mail from a reader of this blog who raised some good points: 

 Q: noticed that i didn’t know what you meant when you said ‘median’ and thought it was a grassy area or something. what is it? also the person you were on the phone with during the video didn’t know either - so may be more better dramatic thing to say is that he’s parking in the middle of the street, in the turn lane.

 A: For those reading this blog who are unfamiliar with the term “median lane”, it’s worth a refresher to look it up in the DMV’s “California Driver Handbook 2008”. According to the handbook, what I call a median lane is also known as: 

CENTER LEFT TURN LANES

A center left turn lane is in the middle of a two-way street and is marked on both sides by two painted lines. The inner line is broken and the outer line is solid. If a street has a center left turn, you must use it when you turn left (VC §21460.5[c]) or start a permitted U-turn. You may only drive for 200 feet in the center left turn lane. This lane is not a regular traffic lane or a passing lane. To turn left from this lane, signal and drive completely inside the center left turn lane. Do not stop with the back of your vehicle blocking traffic. Make sure the lane is clear in both directions and then turn only when it is safe. Look for vehicles coming toward you in the same lane to start their left turn.

When turning left from a side street or driveway, signal and wait until it is safe. Then you may drive into the center left turn lane. Enter traffic only when it is safe. You may drive across a center left turn lane.

A median lane or “center turn lane” is basically  the middle of the street. Parking there is a traffic hazard.

—

Source: ”California Driver Handbook 2008”, California Department of Motor Vehicles, pages 19-20.

Parking Violation

Today, about an hour ago, I went to my local Starbucks to get some coffee. There was a truck parked in the median lane that prevented me from exiting the driveway safely.

I began videotaping it. After about 10 minutes, I realized that the driver was in the vehicle, so while the tape was rolling I went up to him and told him it was illegal to park in the median lane. He said he knew. I asked him to leave. He didn’t say anything, but my guess is he could recognize that the camera was rolling. I asked him to please move the truck because I wanted to leave my driveway and didn’t want to go around the block to go to my destination. He did so.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not the same truck or truck driver as the video recording from earlier this week.

Now I’m back at the house and attempting to upload the latest video. Unfortunately, it turns out, I had no battery power. This is disappointing. I’m putting fresh batteries in my camcorder right after posting this.

Below is a map of the route I need to take to get to Starbucks. The “B” marker represents the truck. The “A” marker represents the business. My domicile is to the left of the “B” marker which means it was a traffic hazard, obstructing my ability to make a transition into the median lane safely.

View Map

E-Mail Exchange

The following is an e-mail exchange from a person named Freddie Nuno. His e-mail address indicates that he is probably a city worker or representative of the city. I have omitted the actual e-mail addresses in this exchange to protect both parties from spammers, however the body of e-mail messages are unedited.

Please note: I am unsure from whose office Mr. Nuno represents because he failed to identify this during the following exchange. Nevertheless, it seems that the City of Los Angeles is now aware of my ongoing problem.

——————————————————————————  

from Freddie Nuno
to me
date Wed, May 28, 2008 at 4:18 PM
subject Re: Issue of Habitual Parking Violator mailed-by lacity.org

Reply:  What is the location of this violation?

—————————————————————————— 

from me
to Freddie Nuno
date Wed, May 28, 2008 at 4:22 PM
subject Re: Issue of Habitual Parking Violator mailed-by gmail.com hide details

Reply:  Dear Mr. Nuno,

Thank you for your prompt response. The location of the violation is clearly indicated at the top of the page of the blog . That is to say: “…. the median lane just north of the intersection of Woodley Avenue and Hart Street in Van Nuys, CA.”

Furthermore, the photos on Flickr and the videos on YouTube are also geo-tagged to indicate the location. Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Best,

Me 

—————————————————————————— 

from Freddie Nuno
to me
date Wed, May 28, 2008 at 4:25 PM
subject Re: Issue of Habitual Parking Violator mailed-by lacity.org hide details

Reply: My apologies for not looking at the blog; however, I wanted to assign this issue to the appropriate office post haste.

Thanks,

F.Nuño

—————————————————————————— 

from me
to Freddie Nuno
date Wed, May 28, 2008 at 4:29 PM
subject Re: Issue of Habitual Parking Violator  

Reply:  No worries, Mr. Nuno. It is also indicated in the YouTube video, which is also posted on the blog. Thanks for again for your prompt response.

Best, 

Me 

Open Letter To My Local Los Angeles City Council Members

Dear Council Members Greuel and Cardenas,

I am writing to you after over a year of calling to report to the LADOT Parking Violations offices about a repeat parking violations offender. The main issue is that the person(s) park a semitruck or a cube truck in the median lane of a residential district and leave it unattended for periods of up to an hour. In doing so, the vehicle obstructs free access to four driveways and causes a hazard for anybody attempting to use the median lane for its intended use.

One evening, after I was nearly in an accident trying to enter my driveway, I informed the police department and was told there was nothing that could be done about it. Last time I checked, council members, the LAPD’s motto was to protect and to serve, so this response was disappointing.

Another evening I attempted to speak to someone (a hispanic male) who was entering the cabin of the semi. He said obscenities to me and drove off. Finally, one day last summer the LAPD happened to be in the neighborhood and gave the driver a warning.

Now it’s been over a year and I’ve continued to call the offices of LADOT Parking Violations whenever a parking violation like I described takes place. It takes up to ten minutes before I am put through to a live person. I give the operator all the relevant information and am told that somebody will come out to emeliorate the problem, yet no law enforcement comes.

At this point, I have began to document the problem by keeping a blog. More recently, with the purchase of a cellphone with a camera, I’ve been posting photos of the violations on Flickr. Even more recently I’ve now creating YouTube videos.

Below this blog post is another post with a YouTube video that documents a parking violation that took place earlier today,

Please, Council Members, I request that this issue be resolved as soon as possible. I’m tired of running around in endless phone loops getting nowhere. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Funnily enough, I’m on jury duty this week, so I am physically close by to the Van Nuys government offices should you be able to meet with me in person.

Signed,

A concerned resident.