Temporary no parking signs were posted on the west side of La Brea Avenue for Metro’s bus-only lanes project. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Temporary no parking signs placed along La Brea Avenue last week by the city of Los Angeles have angered some merchants along the busy commercial corridor.

The signs temporarily restricting parking from 6:30 a.m-4 p.m. on weekdays were placed on street poles from Sunset to Olympic boulevards ahead of construction on Metro’s La Brea Avenue Bus Priority Lanes Project. The project will designate the curbside lanes as bus-only during peak commute periods from 7-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. The bus-only lanes are intended to make public transit faster, and plans call for them to be extended south to Coliseum Street in the future.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation posted the temporary no parking signs on both sides of La Brea Avenue last week after merchants were told the signs would only be posted on the east side. Store owners were upset because customers had no place to park and some cars were towed. Parking was only supposed to be temporarily suspended on one side of the street while construction was ongoing, and later on the other side when construction shifted across the street.

Randy Esada, owner of Prospr at 156 and 158 N. La Brea Ave., said the no parking signs have been a constraint on business. He acknowledged on July 19 that the temporary no parking signs in front of his store have been taken down. He said he heard from Metro that the LADOT prematurely posted the signs on both sides of the street. Metro spokesman Patrick Chandler said work on the lanes on the northbound side of La Brea Avenue is expected to be completed this week, and crews will begin working on the southbound side of La Brea next week.

“Metro’s contractor requested to have the signs in place during the days that they planned to work,” Chandler said.

He said the contractor for the project is Cat Tracking, Inc.

LADOT spokesman Colin Sweeney acknowledged the contractor had requested that the signs be posted.

“LADOT installs temporary no parking signs in response to requests from contractors with proof of permit for construction projects,’ Sweeney said. “In this instance, the contractor requested “no parking” on the northbound side of La Brea Avenue from July 5 to July 19 and on the southbound side of La Brea Avenue from July 17 to July 31 from 6:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday,” read a statement from Sweeney. “Signs are removed at the end of the approved time period though may be removed sooner if construction is completed ahead of schedule.”

Leo Daube, a spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, 5th District, said the office is looking into what caused the problem.

Richard Pink, owner of Pink’s Hot Dogs, said he understands the importance of improving public transportation, but said more should have been done to ensure parking was preserved when crews were not working. On July 19, a temporary no parking sign was posted in front of Pink’s Hot Dogs near La Brea and Melrose avenues.

“Not having parking on La Brea at any time will have an impact on business. I hope the customers know this is temporary, that they will see it’s temporary and in the future they will be able to park in front,” Pink said. “All of the businesses on La Brea need this parking for their customers. They should carefully put these signs up with the least impact to businesses.”

Esada also brought up the fact that many people who parked on La Brea Avenue when the temporary no parking signs were posted received tickets or were towed, including his housekeeper. He believes there is cause for action on behalf of those vehicle owners because the signs were posted incorrectly.

“The parking on the west side was taken prematurely,” Esada said. “The signs shouldn’t have been posted so early. They have been very cavalier about the whole thing.”