Sites Proposed for Public Parking Lot in Studio City
Officials will ask the Board of Transportation Commissioners on Thursday for $2.1 million to pay for a first-ever public parking lot in Studio City.
The city Department of Transportation is proposing three sites, all in the busy 12200 block of Ventura Boulevard, between Laurel Grove Avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Each of the proposed lots would yield about 80 parking spaces.
“This is something that is really needed in the area,” said Patricia Cunningham, a senior management analyst with the transportation department. “Hopefully, we’ll get some cooperation from the board and the council.” All three sites are existing parking lots. The department’s first choice is the lot behind Wells Fargo Bank, 12251 Ventura Blvd.; second is the lot behind Bank of America, 12223 Ventura Blvd., and third is the lot at 12229 Ventura Blvd., which houses various retail operations.
The first two sites could be converted to public parking within a month, transportation officials said. “If everything runs smoothly, we could have it done within a month,” said Karen Patterson, head of off-street parking for the transportation department.
The third site would require the demolition of a building, and would take “considerably longer,” Patterson said.
“I haven’t heard anything about this,” said Sia Adabkah, manager of the Wells Fargo branch at 12251 Ventura Blvd., the site deemed most desirable by the transportation department. “As it is, I have a tremendous amount of difficulty with customers who can’t find a parking space. This is going to be a tough one, let me tell you. I am going to fight this to the end.”
Charlie Coleman, a spokesman for Bank of America, said the bank had not been informed of the deal either. Patterson said the department has entered into “preliminary negotiations only” with the owners of two of the sites, because “we wanted to have the money in our pockets before we got too far along.”
She acknowledged that the news may come as a surprise to businesses currently leasing the lots.
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