Will the streets ever get swept?

Again and again we have told Lakewood that until the parking problem get under control and there is some enforcement of parking rules, the gutters will remain dirty and the the city will continue to waste money on hiring the sweeper to drive down the middle of the street as no one will move their car (as none ever gets a ticket). The city even refuses to enforce the vehicle code (state law). Cars routinely park across the sidewalk blocking driveways making it very difficult for small kids or the handicapped to use the sidewalk. Well fortunately the state is no longer letting cities skate on their dirty streets any longer. Read more on the Water/Urban Runoff problem under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the State Water Resources Control Board. Which means parking has to get under control.

Finally the city is taking some long overdue action via this letter to north Lakewood residents in the "test area". Now lets see some enforcement.


Sweeping parking ban test due
Trial of enforcement method planned in north.
By Karen Robes, Staff writer
Article Launched: 07/14/2007 12:32:46 AM PDT

LAKEWOOD - On many Lakewood roads, street sweepers often have to maneuver around parked cars and vehicles to clear out leaves, trash and other debris, leaving some not-so-tidy streets.

But next year, officials may ban parking during street sweeping hours if a fall pilot program in northern Lakewood is successful.

The City Council this week agreed to test street sweeping enforcement every Thursday beginning on Oct. 4 in northern Lakewood, where about 4,000 households will be affected, said city spokesman Don Waldie.

There will be two sets of street-sweeping hours: 7 a.m. to noon and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Implementing a citywide program would guarantee that streets would be well swept and prevent more trash from ending up in storm drains and ultimately the ocean, Waldie said.

Northern Lakewood was picked for the first phase of enforcement because the area's diverse mix of homes, businesses and apartment units allows the city to perfect the sweeping process and deployment of equipment.

"It's a good test area to learn all that we can about rolling out this massive change to people's lives," Waldie said.

As it stands, the city sweeps the streets, but only 34 percent of Lakewood has no-parking signs on street-sweeping days.

Residents in that 34 percent had to petition for the enforcement by securing at least two-thirds support from the neighborhood for streets to be cleared for weekly sweeping.

Citywide enforcement would eliminate the petition process, Waldie said.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
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