Parking Garages Back Studio City Out of Tight Spot

Peter Herreira stood on the sidewalk of Ventura Boulevard, leaning against Noah’s New York Bagels, smoking a Marlboro 100 and waiting for his ride.

His friend Andy was supposed to pick him up at this very spot at 4 p.m. Now it was 4:12 and Herreira was on his second cigarette. Cars cruised slowly on the boulevard.

“I like coming here, but sometimes,” Herreira confessed, scanning the traffic for his friend through dark glasses, “I wish I could just walk.”

So it goes in Studio City, where everyone wants to be but no one wants to deal with the lack of parking and the traffic.

Long a trendy enclave, Studio City’s popularity has only intensified in recent years as the entertainment industry has expanded and the economy in general has improved. Businesses are fighting for space to move into, and property values, both residential and commercial, are soaring.

But with the good comes what some consider the bad--an infamous parking problem that prompted the City Council last week to approve plans for a $6-million public parking garage that would be the area’s first. Indeed, in a reflection of the San Fernando Valley’s ever-increasing urbanization, city planners are looking at ways to improve parking all along Ventura Boulevard, from Studio City to Woodland Hills.

In Studio City, the city plans to combine a half-acre of land purchased for $2 million with an adjacent parking lot it already owns. Together, the space between Laurelgrove and Vantage avenues will be large enough to construct a multilevel, 400-space garage at a cost of roughly $4 million. The garage would join another currently being built nearby by CBS Studios.

Officials bonded the money for the project and expect to pay it back rather quickly with parking revenues garnered by the new site along with revenues from parking meters throughout the business district, according to an aide from Councilman Mike Feuer’s office.

“It’s the price to pay if you want to hang out in a great place,” said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn.

Located on the north face of the Hollywood Hills in the San Fernando Valley’s southeast corner, Studio City has always been a hip spot. From the time the television industry landed in the 1950s, the stars with their names on Hollywood Boulevard have walked Ventura Boulevard. Barbara Stanwyck bought home furnishings, Rock Hudson picked up a tie and the young Frank Sinatra could be seen strolling along the boulevard.

And while those names have been replaced with George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Michael Richards, many of the places have remained the same--with any additions only adding to the in-spot mystique.

But there is also a suburban enclave just off the boulevard. On tree-lined streets, shingle-roofed ranch houses sit amid shady groves and plush green lawns. Children still play ball in the street here, and neighbors know each other by first names.

Herreira, a writer, grew up in Studio City before moving to Encino eight years ago. Now, even as he watched the line of cars slowly snake past, he was tempted to move back, to be able to walk to one of several unique furniture stores, grab a mochaccino at an open-air cafe and spot a celebrity a flew blocks from home.

“Studio City is funny. You come to Ventura and there’s everything. You got your shops, your cafes, your restaurants,” he said, pausing to take a drag.

“But then you got this,” he added, waving his arm at the traffic.

Officials and residents alike hope the garage solves some of the parking crunch. One positive is that it is located in the middle of what locals call “Studio City Village,” the strip of Ventura Boulevard that runs between Whitsett Avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. It also happens to be the area where business owners are trying to create a formal business district with increased security and beautification projects.

Which leads to the second positive: The garage will be a virtual parking oasis for employees of area businesses, relieving merchants’ concerns that their customers will abandon the neighborhood for one with better parking.

“For years one of the biggest concerns has been finding parking for the people who work there,” said Sharon Mayer, an aide to Feuer. “These people were taking up short-term meter parking meant for shoppers in eight-hour chunks. One of our priorities is to make sure they can have spots in the new structure.”

The question is, will this facility be enough?

“Four-hundred spots are 400 spots, but when you consider thousands of people come through here each day, that’s not so much,” Herreira said.

The caution is understandable. Herreira said he has spent up to 20 minutes cruising the area for a parking spot.

“The key is the side streets: There’s a meter on Vantage near Cantura Street; sometimes that’s open,” he said. “If you feel like a challenge, parking in Studio City is for you.”

In recent years, there have been several attempts to create more parking in Studio City, but the projects have met opposition from residents who say they will encourage more traffic.

As recently as 1994, Studio City residents opposed the construction of a multilevel parking garage by CBS Studios near Valleyheart Drive, where TV shows such as “Seinfeld” and “Caroline in the City” are taped.

Until then, residents had been complaining that employees were parking on the residential streets. However, even though the new garage would solve that problem, residents still feared the implications of having a facility like that just down the road.

“We didn’t want all that traffic on our streets,” said Jo Farkas, a Valleyheart resident who was a vocal opponent of the project.

After years of negotiations among CBS officials, residents and Councilman Joel Wachs’ office, an agreement was reached to construct the CBS facility with as little impact on the community as possible. It is expected to be completed this year.

Farkas said she is happy now but fears the day the garage is completed. “There’s going to be a lot of unhappy people,” she said.

Still, Farkas and Lucente concede the positives outweigh the negatives in the diverse neighborhood.

“You’ve got a country environment just a minute’s walk away from a metropolis,” Lucente said. “It’s got something for everyone.”

With the one notable exception being parking. Which brings us back to Herreira, on cigarette number three, still waiting on his ride.

At 4:23, a black Mazda double-parked in front of Noah’s, Herreira stamped out his cigarette, and said, “What took you so long?”

His friend emerged from the driver’s seat and replied, “I wanted to hit a store down the block, I just couldn’t find anywhere to park.”

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Studio City at a glance

Population: 71,322

65 and older: 16%

Married couples with children under 13: 12%

Median household income: $82,000

Average home price: $350,000 to $500,000

Renters: 33.8%

Note: All stats are for the Studio City- Sherman Oaks area

Source: Los Angeles Planning Dept., 1995