CSULB neighbors concerned, unhappy with student parking

Cal State Long Beach’s parking problems are spilling into nearby neighborhoods.

Residents in neighborhoods along Atherton Street and Palo Verde Avenue said student parking in the neighboring streets has led to a number of issues, including littering, speeding and accidents.

CSULB’s neighbors said for the most part, they understand why students need to park on the street, but they think students could be more courteous about it.

“They have to park some place,” said Douglas Polly, a 29-year resident of a neighborhood on Palo Verde Avenue. “I’m saying that because I’m a graduate of [CSULB.] I do get a little bit upset when I go out and a student has dropped papers or coke cans. That’s not very nice.”

Residential parking permits have also been a limiting factor for residents and students alike in the Palo Verde neighborhoods.

Gina Leigh, a 13-year resident of a Palo Verde neighborhood, said her neighborhood requires residents to purchase a permit for street parking. She said she’s received tickets in her neighborhood because of this, but she’s still glad parking is regulated on her street.

“We get the tickets just as much as [students] do if we leave our car on the street and don’t have the pass,” Leigh said. “I know students want to watch every penny, but the tickets aren’t cheap … [Tickets] are over $60 for parking more than one hour [without the permit]. So once they get a couple tickets, they generally stop parking here.”

Leigh said student parking in her neighborhood creates disturbances, like noisy car alarms and litter in the street. She said when a student’s car alarm goes off, the student is usually on campus and unaware of the noise echoing through the street.

Just down the road, residents on Atherton Street have similar complaints.

Michael Zuganelis, who lives in a neighborhood on Atherton Street, said he has seen students driving at high speeds through the neighborhood to avoid traffic.

Zuganelis’ home, located directly on Atherton Street, is separated from the main street by a cement divider. He said he has noticed some students using the residential Atherton Street to avoid traffic on the main street.

However, he said he understands that students’ parking problems come with the territory.

“[Residents] know that this is part of living here,” Zuganelis said. “The students that park here have given up looking for spaces [on campus]. This is a long walk to get to your classes. I think students prefer to park over there but sometimes rather not.”

Zuganelis said that he also thinks on-campus parking permits should cost less, considering current prices leave some students willing to risk getting fined for parking on residential streets.

He also said he thinks laws pushing students to park on campus need to be enforced more effectively.

Leigh, on the other hand, said she has seen more effective parking enforcement, such as temporary signs placed at entrances to the neighborhood at the start of each semester, which help to deter students from parking in the streets.

Polly said he thinks that implementing one-hour parking along the streets in some neighborhoods has, over the years, also encouraged students to park on campus instead.

However, other residents, like Mike Masterman, a 14-year resident of a neighborhood on Atherton Street, said students’ behavior while parking in the street is sometimes intolerable, such as when a student couldn’t find parking and backed into a neighbor’s truck.

Masterman said the student drove down the street, found parking and then left to campus without informing the resident about the incident. He said neighbors saw the accident and informed a police officer who lived nearby. The student’s car was then impounded.

When something like that happens, Masterman said, students should take responsibility for their actions and realize that residents are more conscious than students think.

“If you aren’t going to park on campus and park down here, just think and realize people live here and we all have jobs,” Masterman said. “We aren’t in school. I get up at 3 o’clock in the morning. Keep your trash to yourself, have some respect, and we won’t have any problems.”