LAPD Cracks Down on Parking Next to New HQ
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A letter placed on the windshield of an LADOT vehicle informs the driver that there is no parking along Main street next to LAPD's new headquarters.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Since the opening of the new Police Administration Building across from City Hall, opportunistic drivers -- most of them in LAPD vehicles -- have found Main street between 1st and 2nd a perfect place to park.
The only problem -- it's not legal.
Seems LAPD has decided to crack down on that. A walk down the street this morning showed several vehicles bearing letters from Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz.
To ensure the flow of traffic, maintain security and to obey the law, parking is strictly prohibited on all streets directly adjacent to the Police Headquarters Facility. Alternate parking is located at 260 South Main Street and in the parking structure east of the old Parker Center (Judge John Aiso Street between Temple Street and 1st Street).
Any vehicle parked next to the Police Headquarters Facility will be subject to citation and towing.
It remains to be seen what definition of "any" the department is using, though. While the note was posted on several vehicles on that stretch on Wednesday morning, it was not found on three LAPD black and whites parked in the same place.
diane Garcia on November 25, 2009, at 12:17PM – #1
i hate the new parking situation that's been caused by the new headquarters. I used to be able to make a quick stop at groundworks every morning before catching the 10 east to work but now there are never any parking spaces because a brand new mercedes, mini cooper club man and a toyota are all owned by civilian employees of the lapd who have handicap signs hanging on their windows. i find it hard to believe someone who needs to park that close to a building for their health would rolling around in a new little sports car.
Alex Brideau III on November 25, 2009, at 12:17PM – #2
Hmmmm. Shouldn't black-and-whites only be parking there for emergency purposes? If their lights ain't flashin', it ain't an emergency in my book. And how is this fair to the many officers who do park in the structure per procedure?
Jim Winstead on November 25, 2009, at 01:04PM – #3
and how about those fake "no parking" signs that the edison's valet service has put on the meters along 2nd street?
tornadoes28 on November 25, 2009, at 01:34PM – #4
Then why don't they paint the curb red?
LAofAnaheim on November 25, 2009, at 01:41PM – #5
An investigation has got to be done on these fake valet signs. It's going everywhere (and not just downtown!).
Dick Riordan on November 25, 2009, at 03:52PM – #6
Alex Brideau III please pass along your address so that when the police need to respond when your family is being robbed or worse, we can let the LAPD know that those officers who walked inside and now are being called to an emergency at your house, now need to run a half mile to their black and white police cruiser. Good thinking genius.
Aaron on November 25, 2009, at 04:13PM – #7
Hey Dick, I'd be more worried about the ten minute hold times when you call 911.
Robert Banuelos on November 25, 2009, at 06:26PM – #8
If a city employee (police or civilian) get a ticket do for a parking violation in a city vehicle to they actually have to pay it or does it just get waived off?
Sam Yorty on November 25, 2009, at 06:46PM – #9
Dick:
As usual, you have little to no idea. Instead of actually looking into the details, you gloss over them and proclaim broad, sweeping generalizations that really only resonate with Los Angeles' diminishing white upper middle class. This is a detail-important issue so see if you can stay awake long enough to understand me.
The police who patrol Downtown in Central Division work out of their facility on Sixth Street (not the new HQ). While there are officers from Central Division stationed at the HQ building, they do not dispatch to 911 calls in Downtown and therefor are not engaged in emergency activity.
LAPD, and the rest of the City's Departments, have a very strict policy about when they can, and cannot, violate the posted parking restrictions in official city vehicles (including marked police cars) that the rest of the public they work for abide by. In every case, parking in posted no parking areas is strictly limited to emergency activity (crime in progress, crime scene investigation, etc.). Administrative and follow-up investigative matters are not considered emergency work under that policy.
More to the point, a very large parking structure was constructed to supply the Department with adequate parking for the new facility above and beyond the limited number of underground spaces below the HQ.
Let's hope this is more of a learning curve that comes along with any change in location of a large bureaucracy. Ditto for you Dick, although I fear it's far too late to rid you of your knee-jerk reactionism.
Sam Yorty on November 25, 2009, at 06:48PM – #10
Robert:
City employees are responsible for the parking tickets and moving violations they get when they are in control of a City vehicle.
If the tickets go unpaid, the employees at LAPD subject themselves to disciplinary action.
Stefan Chex on November 25, 2009, at 08:13PM – #11
Oh Noes! The Donut-eating patrol will have to walk a bit further to park in the morning! Whatever will they do??
Alex Brideau III on November 25, 2009, at 08:53PM – #12
Thank you, Mayor Sam, for having my back on that one. Looks like this Dick doesn't quite seem to get it. :-) Oh well.
Equal Access on November 26, 2009, at 06:53AM – #13
Diane Garcia...what an ignorant statement!
RLK on November 30, 2009, at 08:15AM – #14
I see police vehicles parked in the loading zone at 865 S Fig all the time. It seems it is easier to park in a loading zone when eating at the Pantry than actually parking in the lot across the street for $2. The officers are usually plain clothes, higher ranking and don't seem the type that respond to emergencies.
Also, I see police cars parked in front of the Panini Cafe on 9th between Hope and Flower in the red zone for lunch. While I understand the officers have to eat and in an emergency they want to be parked close, I still view these offers as law breakers.
In short, I don’t believe any police officer will ever get a ticket in a city vehicle and I doubt they will get a ticket in their own vehicle.
Just A Thought on December 01, 2009, at 12:54PM – #15
Patrol officers (the ones most often in the black and white police vehicles) must always be available to answer radio calls. That means that if they have to go to headquarters to drop something off they do not want a five minute errand to take half and hour because the car is blocks away. Lack of time is the same reason officers will park illegally other places. Officers are always in the car and on the clock. To waste city time driving in circles looking for legal parking spaces to get a quick bite or to use the bathroom is ridiculous.
Oscar on December 01, 2009, at 01:42PM – #16
I also see them park in the red zone in front of the Cliffton's.
When they park in a red zone in a street with parking spaces it's not a big deal because they're actually parking in a zone designated for fire emergencies, and it's quite obvious that if there is such an emergency the PO will either assist or move the vehicle, the problem with parking on a red zone such as the one in fron of the Clifton's cafeteria is that they are actually blocking a lane of traffic because there is no parking spaces adjacent, which means that buses for example, have to go around the squad car and block traffic to be ablo to their stop.
And yes, it's usually rank officers, not the regular rookie.
oh and BTW, don't get me wrong I do support the LAPD and am very grateful for their service, but that doesn't mean they can't use a little bit of criticism...
Juan on December 10, 2009, at 11:01PM – #17
What a funny and informative read. Dick's funny, but he is fake (or just wanted to attack first 'cop hater'?)--I would not expect a black and white from the station to be 1st to respond to an armed robbery (or anything) in progress.
I don't love cops, but I support good cops. Cops should be able to park in red, commercial driveways, etc., but not block traffic, for quick bites and bathroom stops. Cops and other government employees shouldn't get a break when they are driving like dummies on the job (non-emergency) [bus drivers in downtown, see comments in http://blogdowntown.com/2009/12/4920-lapd-busts-shell-game-on-los-angeles-street].
Eric: "Any vehicle parked next to the Police Headquarters Facility will be subject to citation and towing." 'Subject to' gives the citing officer discretion to cite or tow, so your observation confirms that only police cars will not get cited or towed.