Boyle Heights: Where do I Park?

[caption id="attachment_37833" align="aligncenter" width="300"] “It’s a worthy investment,” Corissa Hernandez says about expanding parking options in Boyle Heights[/caption]

When Corissa Hernandez used to own House of Xelas, a bar located just a stone's throw away from Mariachi Plaza along 1st Street in Boyle Heights, she remembers the calls with a recurring theme.

“They’d say, ‘We’ve been driving around for 30 minutes and we can’t find parking,’” she recalls.

“That’s business we would lose,” says the entrepreneur. “Because they can just go over the bridge into the Arts District, where plenty of parking structures exist.”

House of Xelas closed in 2023, but businesses located in Boyle Heights—one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles—continue to suffer due to a lack of parking, an issue that leaders say they’ve raised with city officials, with no real answers so far.

“It’s always been an issue because there is no designated parking lot on 1st Street,” notes Miriam Rodriguez, president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, a position she’s held since December 2023.

Few businesses in the area offer their own parking, and those with only a few spaces are not enough to meet the demand. And while some might think this is trivial, “it’s affecting the ability of businesses to get customers,” Rodriguez says.

[caption id="attachment_55782" align="aligncenter" width="200"] “It’s always been an issue because there is no designated parking lot on 1st Street,” notes Miriam Rodriguez, president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce.[/caption]

Parking in nearby residential streets is not feasible or helpful. Nearby homes often lack driveways, and street parking is already saturated.

Boyle Height ranked sixth in Los Angeles parking ticket issuance from January to May 2024 with 21,740 tickets, below Hollywood but above neighborhoods like Venice or Mid-Wilshire.

“It’s hard to hear people say, ‘I ended up leaving because I couldn’t find parking,’” Rodriguez adds. “It’s highly impacting them because it’s something that’s consistently brought up when you talk to business owners.”

In an age of convenience, when we can order just about everything online and have it delivered to our door, driving around until you find parking is a deal breaker for most consumers, Hernandez says.

“Your average consumer needs accessibility,” she notes. “The average person is not accustomed to that anymore (driving around to look for parking).”

“It’s frustrating,” Rodriguez says. “You go to Alhambra and Pasadena, and their business districts are flourishing because they have so many parking structures, and it’s free. If you’re looking for a place to eat, those are factors that you’re going to think about.”

ADVOCATING BEFORE CITY LEADERS

Rodriguez and Hernandez say there have been talks with the local council’s office and even the office of the mayor in the past, and several studies have also been conducted, concluding that more parking is needed in the area. But other issues have come up, and nothing has come of it.

“There’s been a push for people to use public transportation, which would be ideal, but we’re still not there,” Rodriguez says. “People still rely on their cars to get places. Pretending people are not going to use their cars is not realistic.”

Hernandez says that they encouraged their bar patrons to use Uber and Metro, but rideshare prices have increased dramatically in recent years, and “many customers did not feel comfortable taking the Gold Line,” so these are not completely feasible options.

The next question that comes up is: Where would you put a parking structure?

Many of the vacant lots in the area have already been designated for affordable housing, which is sorely needed but would put more strain on the few parking spaces available.

One option that Hernandez has considered is improving a private parking lot behind Santa Cecilia Restaurant, located at Mariachi Plaza. The lot is not very big and only offers a few spaces, but it could be suitable for a multi-story parking structure.

“We have suggested figuring out who can talk to the owner and have (the authorities) offer grants to expand it and build on it to create more parking,” Hernandez says.

She thinks this could be an alternative that would benefit businesses and residents alike and offer an immediate solution.

“There is a lot of talent in our community and potential businesses that can be opened on those storefronts to create jobs, but we can’t activate those spaces, and one of the factors is the lack of parking,” Hernandez says.

Alleviating this problem would incentivize the area further and make a lasting impact on those who live there, want to do business there, or want to come and spend money there.

“It’s a worthy investment,” Hernandez says.