Let me first start by saying I have never lived in a place where I can't park near my own home. Being a single woman who sometimes works a night shift, I am forced to walk blocks to and from my car at unruly hours of the morning crossing my fingers that there's no ticket, I haven't been towed or I won't get harassed or worse by the crazies that have migrated to the east village area to hang out. I am sick of it. The lack of parking, policing, and excess of noise from the bars near Alamitos has finally pissed me off enough to say something about it. I come home from my day job @ 8pm and troll around like a shopper at Christmas waiting for someone to move so I can park overnight and get a decent nights sleep. However, most days I have to wake up again between 4am-9am to move my car only to be faced with dozens of neighbors doing the same thing. My perfect condition car has been scraped, dented, and damaged just sitting in the vicinity of my home. I looked at my car last night and there is a new unsightly gash when there wasn't one the night before because people are squishing into spots they can't fit in normally. This morning I went to move my car from blocks away to in front of my building where I spotted a parking spot, only to see the both sides of my street are now 2 hour parking! Including Sundays, my only day off!

Long Beach government you want us to ride our bikes to and from our cars and that is ridiculous. We go shopping for groceries and/or larger items and have to make multiple trips. What about families who have kids and need to take them in and out constantly. Elderly who are fending for themselves or single people trying to move into a new place without have their items hijacked between block long runs to unload.

I hated the idea of the bike path from the start. The impact on an already bad parking situation just got worse, and now based on the websites listed below we must pay upwards of $40-$60 to park monthly. If you look closely for $50 a month you don't even have 24 access! I can't afford that! Like most people right now we are working just to survive and now this. Yes, we can get a permit to park in the 2 hour spot, which is cheaper, but we can't ever get a free spot because of the competition of other neighbors and the Von's shoppers that neglect to use the lot provided for them. We need a free, safe, residents only parking permit lot or something to solve this problem. This month I incurred $100 worth of tickets because that parking was my one and only option. Guess the kids can't get new shoes, the dog will be neglected for his shots, and/or the gas bill might not get paid.

I have attached one document that encourages the local use of bikes in the area, eliminating or reducing the need for cars. WHAT??? This is LA area not New York, we need our cars. When we do walk or bike we still need a place for our cars. If we are lucky enough to work in the city, we need 24 hour access to our cars, not a few hours or overnight. There are very few jobs in Long Beach or in Southern CAat all. I know this firsthand because I've been searching 3 years for a FT with benefits position. I'd say 90% of residents work north or south of here, and are now paying $50+ every time they fill up. My $50 that you want me to pay for parking is better spent on gas getting me to work so I can live just inches way from poverty level.

The east village is suffering the most because the patrons of the bars and restaurants also have no where to park so they too take our spots.

The noise from the 3 bars in the vicinity is a whole other problem.

I like to go out as much as the next person, but people are running and screaming at all hours of the night forcing me to sleep with my windows shut. Luckily it's been a cold spring.

People are stealing anything that isn't nailed down, installing graffiti, and jumping on cars. The policing is centered around Pine which now has more out of business bars then ever so I don't see the point of so much enforcement being there. I've had to call the police multiple times because a homeless person was sleeping at my doorstep or patrons were screaming and laughing in large groups as the stumble from the bars. You wanna catch a drunk driver??? Sit outside my place for about 30 min you'll get a dozen.1 particular bar is a major noise problem, both with the volume of the music until 2am that you can hear a block away and with the thoughtlessness of their patrons screaming at all hours. The problem is the parking lot adjacent to them is deemed unavailable by the decrepit establishment next door that looks like a run down crack house, but will tow anyone who dares to park there. The police probably have my number memorized at this point, but I feel attention needs to be brought to problems before they get out of control.

Another issue is:

The abuse of the bike path (even by city employees who should know better), ignoring of the traffic signals, biking the wrong way and more trash then I've ever seen here, has been a hassle to the east village community. I've lived here for only 3 years, but I've seen nothing but a decline in quality since all these supposed innovations had been put into place. I understand you want to be on the books as a "GREEN" city, but at what cost to the residents. We pay a little more to live downtown instead of other neighborhoods and this is what we have to put up with.

I've had it with the destruction of this area and I'm hoping others feel the same way. I'm all for making things better in the downtown area, but no one who lives here seems to be benefiting from these changes.

If you agree and want to be heard, please post a comment below and/or send a complaint email to: district2@longbeach.gov or call 562-570-6684

Links to "so-called" parking solutions:
http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=29485
http://www.longbeach.gov/district2/parking.asp
http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=24336

5/28/11 update:

(2) more large scraps on the front of my car. What the hell? I am extremly careful in my selection of parking to make sure I'm not too close to others, but the damage still keeps happening. Even if It's blocks away I will no longer paralell park in this area.

9/10/11 update:

more parking removed from the east village!