Neighbors of Porto’s still fuming over customer parking

After years of fighting for more parking restrictions in their neighborhood, North Cordova Street residents say they’re not giving up their quest to prevent customer of nearby Porto’s Bakery from taking up valuable curb space.

The North Cordova Street Residents Assn. are fighting a decision by the Traffic Commission and City Council to not impose more parking restrictions on the 900 block of their street.

Officials say the block already has the strictest set of rules allowed under city codes, but residents say it’s not enough, and that Porto’s customer continue to take up curb space in front of their homes.

“If we ever have to leave on the weekends to go run errands, we have no hope of getting a spot in front of our house until 7 p.m. that night,” said Rudy De La Cruz, who has been played an active role in mobilizing his neighbors. “It is ridiculous that we sometimes have to walk two blocks with all of our groceries because someone decides not to follow the rules.”

Currently, parking on his block is allowed for residents only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Porto’s, which opened on Magnolia in Jan. 2005, has worked with the residents in the past to improve the situation, said owner Raul Porto.

“We knew that they were being impacted when employees and customers parked illegally,” he said. “We worked with both residents and the city and put out more signage.”

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