Due to sudden changes in available parking areas and ticketing practices during this semester, frustration seems to be growing among the EC student body.
As many have noticed, a multi-story parking structure is being constructed along Redondo Beach Boulevard causing there to be a shortage of parking areas that students can legally park in.
In addition to the lack of parking spaces, access to these limited parking areas has been difficult to find for many students.
“The road to get to the two-story parking structure is closed on the main end and the only way to park there is to drive to the far end of the school,” John Stewart, 24, business major, said.
This entrance/exit to the two-story parking lot is located on Manhattan Beach Boulevard and although it is the lone driveway that is accessible to EC students, there are plenty of spaces open every day.
“When it comes to parking, students must be patient when trying to find a spot, they should leave home earlier and they need to figure out where they can park easily before they arrive at school,” Michael Trevis, EC chief of police, said.
The main entrance to the two-story parking lot is closed because a traffic signal is being installed next to the new multi-level parking structure in a collaborative effort by EC, the City of Torrance and Los Angeles County to ease traffic congestion and accidents.
“I have been hearing that the new parking structure will be completed by the upcoming spring semester and possibly even by the winter semester,” Trevis said.
Along with the electronic traffic signal, the new structure will be equipped with energy efficient lighting and new cameras for monitoring and safety.
EC and its police department are empathetic to the students and have decided that in the first two weeks of each semester, no parking tickets will be issued to anyone in the parking lot.
“Due to the high volume of students in the first few weeks of the semester, our parking enforcement does not issue any tickets to cars parked in the lot without a permit,” Trevis said.
Parking enforcement was lenient during the first half of the semester, but changes in parking rules have suddenly been enforced adding to the frustration of some students.
“I got a ticket for not parking within the parking stall lines in the parking lot which is a brand new rule they began enforcing on Oct. 27,” Stewart said.
This parking enforcement law is a new rule, but has been implemented to ease the congestion in the South Parking Lot across Redondo Beach Boulevard.
“We posted about 5 signs around the south parking lot for 5 days during the second week of October notifying students that they would be ticketed for not parking within parking stall lines, so if they didn’t see it that is not my problem,” Eric Ramirez, police cadet, said.
This negative attitude does not have any reflection on the EC police department as most officers are helpful and courteous, but does not change the fact that students who have bought the required parking placard are still getting ticketed for breaking parking rules introduced just two weeks ago.
“During the beginning of the semester, we did not ticket students for parking in unauthorized areas because parking was so limited, but now that parking problems have eased, we have begun to give tickets to cars parked in staff spaces and outside of designated student stalls,” Trevis said.
Many students feel that this new parking rule is unfair because adequate notice was not given to the student body about this major change.
“We had an electronic traffic sign at the traffic circle that flashed a message in orange lights notifying students of the change for an entire week which is plenty of time for students to read it,” Ramirez said.
With the new revenue being generated from these new tickets that are issued, the increase to the school budget should leave more room to hire more officers to patrol the campus or other necessary steps to ensure campus safety.
“I bought a parking placard from the school, but there isn’t anywhere to park so I probably will not buy one next semester and just park off campus,” Brittany Ruiz, 22, art history major said.
Lack of parking and street congestion is a natural part of Los Angeles life and these problems are not only found in EC parking lots, but in parking lots at schools across the region.
“If someone were to survey different cities and asked them what concerns they face as a city, parking would be in the top 3 in every city, Trevis said.