by Timothy Rutt
Tuesday night’s ACONA meeting was a wide-ranging look at traffic and parking complaints in Altadena -- and if any conclusion can be drawn, it’s that Altadena is a grab-bag of parking rules.
Guests included Altadena CHP officers Thomas Miller and Xavier Behar and Tommy Mutteraid and Jennifer Aborida of the county Traffic and Lighting Division.
Much of the discussion involved drop-off and pick-up problems around St. Elizabeth’s School, which appears to be a no-man’s land: residents reported that they would complain to the sheriff, who say call the California Highway Patrol (which handles traffic problems in Altadena), who would say call the Pasadena Police Department (because Woodbury Road in that part of town is the dividing line between Pasadena and Altadena -- the school’s on the north side of the street, but if the parents are illegally parking on the south side of the street, it’s a Pasadena problem).
Altadena Sheriff Capt. John S. Benedict said that enforcement is a problem on his end, as well: parking is handled by an entirely different sheriff’s division, which has one officer working out of Altadena’s station Mondays-Fridays eight hours a day.
But some conclusions came out of the meeting:
- Parking your car in front of an open driveway is illegal, and the car can be towed.
- It’s also illegal to block a sidewalk with your vehicle -- if you’re in the driveway, you have to keep the sidewalk clear.
- CHP officers use prima facie speeds in Altadena: if you’re going over 35 in a 35mph zone, it’s not necessarily a violation -- but speeding when there are pedestrians around or other mitigating factors may make it a violation.
The remaining scheduled ACONA meetings for this year are March 4, May 6, September 23, and November 4.
If you attended the meeting, or have ideas for future meetings, take the survey:
