The Official New Yorker’s Guide To Los Angeles

Street Parking

Since my arrival in Los Angeles last July, I have accrued parking fines of over $800, which my mother contends is somehow linked to a nascent drinking problem. But since the total averages to only $100 per month, I’d say I’m not doing too badly. While I firmly take responsibility for my own errors and oversights, it is important to note that the city of Los Angeles intends its street parking rules to be draconian. Because it is bankrupt. As a result of its financial mismanagement, the city forces whole neighborhoods to rise with the dawn and move their cars before 7 or 8am, which is biased against workers with late shifts, as well as the hungover. In addition, the city boasts a fleet of parking enforcement officers, who will idle by your car, ticket in hand, if the meter nears zero. With all this gold pouring into the city’s coffers, a reasonable person might expect the streets of Los Angeles to be paved with this shiny, precious ore. In reality, the streets of Los Angeles are rife with potholes. Since L.A. is generally spared the gravel wear-and-tear caused by rain, ice, and snow, it may seem strange to encounter so many craters that seemed tailor-made to ruin tires and break axles. So where does the gold go? The orange groves? The flaxen locks of Brittany Snow? We may never know. [Brittany Snow via]