SAN FERNANDO : Ground Broken for Courthouse Parking

Construction crews broke ground Wednesday on a new parking lot near the San Fernando Courthouse that officials say will help alleviate local parking problems.

The shortage of parking near the courthouse is so severe that last year street parking was restricted to residents of the area and their guests, said San Fernando City Engineer Jerry Wedding.

“Parking is quite a hassle,” Wedding said. When the 118-space lot is completed by the end of September, “it will be a big improvement,” he said.

The city of San Fernando acquired part of the 1.1-acre lot just northwest of the courthouse under a deal between the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and Southern Pacific railroad.

The commission paid Southern Pacific $27 million for a right of way along a 2 1/2-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard between Beverly Hills and the San Diego Freeway. Supervisor Ed Edelman, whose district includes the city of San Fernando, got Southern Pacific to throw in two-thirds of an acre, valued at $435,000, for the parking lot as part of the deal, Wedding said. The San Fernando Redevelopment Agency then bought an additional half-acre parcel near the Southern Pacific land for $318,000, said Joel Bellman, Edelman’s press deputy.