Can I park here? Confusion around parking signs in Los Angeles

Have you ever pulled up to a parking spot in the LA area and asked yourself, “Can I park here?”  

On certain streets in Los Angeles, this can be confusing because there are so many signs. It’s a phenomenon that led many people to document their experience with social media videos that highlight the confusion. 

In order to get some answers about why parking in the LA area is so confusing, NBC Los Angeles spoke with Andrew Maximous, the Mobility and Traffic Engineer for Culver City Public Works.

Maximous acknowledged that yes, Culver City has a lot of signs, but they serve a purpose.

“Parking, on-street parking in particular, is one of the most precious and valuable and limited resources that we manage as a public agency,” Maximous said.

He explained parking is a challenge for every urban city as it has to balance all the competing needs, which vary block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood.

“For example, in this neighborhood, we have the school with pickup and drop-off times. We have the residential area with its permit parking. We also have teacher permit parking, street sweeping,” he described

But Maximous said his department is not trying to make things difficult on purpose.

“We’re not here to try to increase the number of citations. In a perfect world, there would be no citations on my watch,” he said. “Trying to slice up the times and uses of the curb, depending on all the needs, can be a challenge.

As of now, state law requires streets signs have a certain look and color in order for citations to be enforceable, which is why creative ideas, such as a QR code that notes “yes” or “no” on parking, may have to wait a little longer.

NBCLA also reached out to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation for comment but did not heard back.