Council puts brakes on Fairview Drive parking ban

Residents near La Cañada Elementary school won a partial victory Monday night when the City Council decided to scale back a plan to prohibit street parking in the area.

The Public Works Commission determined in May that parking should be prohibited on the south side of Fairview Drive 100 feet west of Angeles Crest Highway in order to avoid congestion on Fairview.

Several residents appealed, and on Monday the City Council voted 3-0 to support the appeal. The council said parking on the narrow street should only be limited at times of peak congestion on school days. Mayor Steve Del Guercio and Councilman Donald Voss were not in attendance.

The council voted to keep a 22-year-old restriction on parking in the affected area from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and directed city staff to propose hours for an afternoon parking prohibition that coincides with students leaving school.

Resident Francis Segismundo filed the appeal on behalf of himself and two neighbors.

“What has changed with traffic in the last 22 years? Nothing, actually. I’ve lived there 10 years, and I’ve talked to my neighbors, and we haven’t seen any accidents,” said Segismundo. “A homeowner should have a right to park in front of their own property.”

Segismundo said that if parking were permanently restricted in front of his home, it would just move the choke point on the narrow street further west.

Fairview Drive resident Joseph Mitchell, who made the original request that the city impose a full-time parking prohibition, said that he had seen several near-accidents at that corner, and that he thought the Segismundos and their neighbors could park on Angeles Crest Highway with little inconvenience.

Councilmember Michael Davitt acknowledged that safety comes before parking convenience, but said this situation had a simple solution.

“Even though Fairview is challenged because it’s a narrow street, it seems to me the tension of the heavy traffic is related to the school,” he said.