MTA Ironing Out Wrinkles in Parking

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 to downtown, then rushed off to her job.

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

The parking lots at both the North Hollywood and Universal City stations were full Friday afternoon. Patient motorists could find a spot when someone left, but even the Metropolitan Transportation Authority acknowledged that the subway is 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 were 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 an expected parking crunch. North Hollywood has 847 spots, and the Universal City stop has 250 spaces, with another 246 to be ready in March.

This week the MTA noticed a significant parking crunch and is again advising subway riders to find other ways of reaching the station, said Jim de la Loza, MTA executive officer of planning and programming. He said the MTA had originally planned for 2,000 spots at both stations, but downsized those plans in response to input from the community.

The completed Red Line subway draws riders from all parts--and strata--of the city. On Friday, beat-up Toyotas and squeaky-clean Volvos were driving in and out of the North Hollywood lot.

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

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Radford, who wants to build a 500,000-square-foot retail/entertainment complex adjacent to the North Hollywood station, also had high praise for the subway. 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 MacArthur Park, then back to the academy for another meeting. “This will be the transportation hub of the San Fernando Valley,” he said.

In the meantime, however, the subway may create some temporary hassles.

Near the Universal City station, members of the Studio City Residents Assn. have watched motorists park cars in the subway lot and then walk over to catch the tram up the hill to CityWalk and Universal Studios.

The MTA agreed to post signs warning users that the lot is for Red Line users only, said Tony Lucente, president of the association. If the lot is always filled, Lucente said, neighbors have concerns that motorists will start parking on residential streets.

In response, the MTA said signs would be posted next week, and that it may reconsider how it uses its security services, Wosk said. Their role was “to make sure people’s cars aren’t broken into, not monitoring if they go to the train, but their role may change.”

Wosk said the MTA will also meet next week with the city’s transportation department to try to find other short-term solutions to the parking overflow, perhaps street parking, leasing lots or shuttles.