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City looks for ways to ease parking congestion
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| Sisters Erlinda Manalastas, left, and Rosita Dionisio were among the first customers served by Leidy Diaz, right, at the grand opening of Porto's Bakery and Cafe at Magnolia and Hollywood Way in Burbank in 2006. |
By Jeremy Oberstein
MAGNOLIA PARK — Ten years ago, Wayne Thornton never had a problem finding a parking spot near his store.
But now, the general manager of Norcostco Costumes, and his customers are having trouble finding spaces, something he blames on the popular Porto’s Bakery next door.
“Porto’s took away all of our front parking,” he said. “It’s been quite congested. We’ve definitely seen less people coming in.”
Citing the concerns of business owners and frustrated drivers, the city is considering multiple solutions to the parking crunch, including paying private enterprises — such as the Magnolia Park United Methodist Church, which is three blocks from Porto’s — to use its parking lots. The city is also in talks with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to lease a lot owned by the utility that would provide 50 spaces and nearly 50 angled parking spaces on small side streets throughout Magnolia Park, such as on Cordova Street, traffic engineer Ken Johnson said.
“Because of a number of other businesses, there are a high level of customers that demand parking along Magnolia,” he said, “The streets in that area tend to be between 75% and 100% full during much of the day, where as Magnolia Park as a whole is less than 50% full. There are spaces available, but not always right next door and in Burbank, people have trouble walking a block.”
Since Porto’s moved to the corner of Hollywood Way and Magnolia Boulevard in 2006, traffic and parking concerns have continually plagued the area, causing headaches for drivers and exasperation from some business owners.
Weeks after the 14,000-square-foot eatery opened, the City Council voted to make the alley behind Porto’s a one-way street running east from Hollywood Way to Cordova Street.
Porto’s was also a point of contention in last year’s race for the council, during which now-Councilman Gary Bric said, “I don’t think we properly planned for the negative impacts it would have on the traffic and the residents of the area.”
He still believes that to be the case today and on Wednesday called for more signage that would restrict left hand turns from the bakery’s parking lot off of Hollywood Way.
“It’s something that needs to be looked at,” he said.
The Porto’s parking lot, which tends to get crowded during the lunch rush on the weekends and during entire days on the weekend, has also been a point of dismay observers say.
“There are a lot of times on the weekend when I’ll spend 15 to 20 minutes looking for a parking spot,” Burbank resident William Velasquez said. “It can be frustrating, but the food is so great, it’s worth it.”
The weekdays have also been disconcerting for some, such as Toluca Lake resident Diane Relfsmyder.
“It’s terrible there, very frustrating,” she said. “You have to come at the perfect time to find a spot.”
Due to simmering aggravations, which have at times boiled over in the parking in the lot, Porto’s was forced to hire a security guard to keep the peace and ensure that parkers stick to the bakery’s assigned spaces. But peace has not always been easy to preserve.
“I’ve seen fights, people arguing, people yelling. It can get pretty crazy,” said Mounier Miss, the security guard who has patrolled the lot at Porto’s for the past five months. “On the weekends, people sometimes wait for 45 minutes to an hour [for a space.] Some people leave and others stay.”
That battle between parking and eating is one in which Porto’s food seems to be emerging victoriously.
Each week, Porto’s serves between 7,000 and 10,000 customers and has encouraged more pedestrian traffic, something the area lacked before the bakery opened, owner Raul Porto said.
“It’s not like we went from zero to a million cars, but more like a million to [1.02 million],” he said. “It’s a busy street and we try to work with everybody. But, look, we get people walking and gave them a reason to stay in the area.”
Some business leaders, like Ira Lippmann, the chairman of the Magnolia Park Partnership and owner of the Jelly Bean Factory on Hollywood Way, praised Porto’s for bringing more people to the area that struggled for years to attract shoppers.
“But it’s a mixed blessing,” he said. “They do have lots of people that shop there, but occasionally the parking issue is frustrating. In general, it’s not a negative thing. They are bringing traffic to the area, which is what we want.”
Thornton also praised the name recognition and increased clientele Porto’s brings to the area, but maintained that the lack of parking is the main issue sealing his current of discontent.
“There are so many darn people and so little spots,” he said. “I can’t see it getting any better.”
But now, the general manager of Norcostco Costumes, and his customers are having trouble finding spaces, something he blames on the popular Porto’s Bakery next door.
“Porto’s took away all of our front parking,” he said. “It’s been quite congested. We’ve definitely seen less people coming in.”
Citing the concerns of business owners and frustrated drivers, the city is considering multiple solutions to the parking crunch, including paying private enterprises — such as the Magnolia Park United Methodist Church, which is three blocks from Porto’s — to use its parking lots. The city is also in talks with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to lease a lot owned by the utility that would provide 50 spaces and nearly 50 angled parking spaces on small side streets throughout Magnolia Park, such as on Cordova Street, traffic engineer Ken Johnson said.
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Since Porto’s moved to the corner of Hollywood Way and Magnolia Boulevard in 2006, traffic and parking concerns have continually plagued the area, causing headaches for drivers and exasperation from some business owners.
Weeks after the 14,000-square-foot eatery opened, the City Council voted to make the alley behind Porto’s a one-way street running east from Hollywood Way to Cordova Street.
Porto’s was also a point of contention in last year’s race for the council, during which now-Councilman Gary Bric said, “I don’t think we properly planned for the negative impacts it would have on the traffic and the residents of the area.”
He still believes that to be the case today and on Wednesday called for more signage that would restrict left hand turns from the bakery’s parking lot off of Hollywood Way.
“It’s something that needs to be looked at,” he said.
The Porto’s parking lot, which tends to get crowded during the lunch rush on the weekends and during entire days on the weekend, has also been a point of dismay observers say.
“There are a lot of times on the weekend when I’ll spend 15 to 20 minutes looking for a parking spot,” Burbank resident William Velasquez said. “It can be frustrating, but the food is so great, it’s worth it.”
The weekdays have also been disconcerting for some, such as Toluca Lake resident Diane Relfsmyder.
“It’s terrible there, very frustrating,” she said. “You have to come at the perfect time to find a spot.”
Due to simmering aggravations, which have at times boiled over in the parking in the lot, Porto’s was forced to hire a security guard to keep the peace and ensure that parkers stick to the bakery’s assigned spaces. But peace has not always been easy to preserve.
“I’ve seen fights, people arguing, people yelling. It can get pretty crazy,” said Mounier Miss, the security guard who has patrolled the lot at Porto’s for the past five months. “On the weekends, people sometimes wait for 45 minutes to an hour [for a space.] Some people leave and others stay.”
That battle between parking and eating is one in which Porto’s food seems to be emerging victoriously.
Each week, Porto’s serves between 7,000 and 10,000 customers and has encouraged more pedestrian traffic, something the area lacked before the bakery opened, owner Raul Porto said.
“It’s not like we went from zero to a million cars, but more like a million to [1.02 million],” he said. “It’s a busy street and we try to work with everybody. But, look, we get people walking and gave them a reason to stay in the area.”
Some business leaders, like Ira Lippmann, the chairman of the Magnolia Park Partnership and owner of the Jelly Bean Factory on Hollywood Way, praised Porto’s for bringing more people to the area that struggled for years to attract shoppers.
“But it’s a mixed blessing,” he said. “They do have lots of people that shop there, but occasionally the parking issue is frustrating. In general, it’s not a negative thing. They are bringing traffic to the area, which is what we want.”
Thornton also praised the name recognition and increased clientele Porto’s brings to the area, but maintained that the lack of parking is the main issue sealing his current of discontent.
“There are so many darn people and so little spots,” he said. “I can’t see it getting any better.”
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