Parking Woes Come With Success of New Subway

Unlike most drivers, Misty Wright didn’t have to hunt for a parking spot Friday afternoon at the North Hollywood subway station. She drove in, dropped off a friend who was catching the Red Line downtown, then drove off to her job.

“I’m lucky I can drop her and don’t have to look,” said Wright, 25, of North Hollywood.

The parking lots at both the North Hollywood and Universal City stations were full. Even the Metropolitan Transportation Authority acknowledged that the subway has been a victim of its own success.

“It’s like a double-edged sword for us,” said MTA spokesman Gary Wosk. “We want to be successful, but not so quickly. We knew these are issues we had to look at, but the timetable has been pushed up quickly.”

Even before the grand opening three weeks ago, the MTA had advised riders to use public transportation to get to the two new San Fernando Valley stations because of the expected parking crunch.

North Hollywood has 847 spots, and the Universal City stop has 250. Another 246 spaces are to be completed in March.

This week, the MTA realized that its prediction of congested parking lots had come true and again advised subway riders to find other ways of reaching the stations, said Jim de la Loza, the agency’s executive officer for planning and programming. He said the MTA had originally planned for 2,000 spots at both stations, but downsized those plans after community input.

“It is crowded,” said Santa Monica developer J. Allen Radford, who was just leaving the lot in his car. “The MTA woefully underestimated the success of what was going to happen.”

But Radford said the subway works.

He went to a meeting at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences near the station, then took the subway to lunch at Langer’s deli near Mac Arthur Park, then rode back to the academy.

“This will be the transportation hub of the San Fernando Valley,” he said.

Right now, though, there are hassles.

Wosk said the MTA will meet next week with the city’s transportation department to study other solutions to the parking overflow, such as shuttles or leased space for additional parking.