South El Monte : Parking Fee to Be Imposed

A $1 parking fee per vehicle will be collected beginning Saturday at lots D and E adjacent to the picnic area and Legg Lake at the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. The lots, which contain 2,320 parking spaces, will have coin-operated automatic ticket dispensers and will be patrolled regularly by parking enforcement officers. The park is open from sunrise to sunset, and the parking fee will be enforced from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The county Board of Supervisors’ decision to charge for parking will provide funds for maintenance and improvement of park facilities, said Tony Yakimowich, spokesman for the county Parks and Recreation Department. Yakimowich said the county hopes to raise $140,000 a year from the parking fee, with half of it earmarked for improvements at the 1,000-acre park. Vehicles displaying official handicapped identification will be exempt from the fee.