Measure improves parking on crowded Peninsula streets.

SACRAMENTO – The Assembly on Monday approved a bill by Bonnie Lowenthal that should make life a little easier for people who live or visit on the narrow, dead-end streets of the Peninsula section of Long Beach.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 2067, allows the city of Long Beach to adopt flexible parking ordinances so that motorists can park on either side of the tiny streets, regardless of which way their car is facing.

“These streets are so small that you really need some special rules,” said Assemblymember Lowenthal, D-Long Beach. “The people who live there have been asking for this help for a long time.”

AB 2067 allows the city to try out the new rules during a three-year pilot program.

Long Beach city officials asked for Lowenthal’s help last year. Residents were complaining about parking tickets that were placed on their cars in front of their own homes.

Under current law, it is illegal for a vehicle to be parked with its left-hand wheels adjacent to a left-hand curb on a two-way street. Vehicles violating this law are subject to parking citations, which has led to frustrated residents who feel the crowded, impacted conditions subject them to greater risk of property damage and more difficulty while navigating their streets.

AB 2067 is a reintroduction of AB 213, a similar bill by Assemblymember Lowenthal from last year, which was vetoed by the Governor in 2009.

After months of discussions with the Governor’s office and the California Highway Patrol, the measure now has no opposition and has received unanimous bipartisan support by the Legislature.

The governor will have 12 days to sign or veto the bill.

Contact: Will Shuck  (916) 319-2054