Shops Cope With Parking Loss During Magnolia Widening

Nearly several months into the meat of the Magnolia Boulevard widening project, some businesses on the impacted south side of the street are reeling from the loss of curbside parking.

Part of the effort to add an additional seven feet of road required tearing out sidewalk from Vineland Avenue to Cahuenga Boulevard.

Trevor Johnson, a barber at Mr. Z Barber and Beauty Salon, said the lack of parking has trimmed the number of customers he gets in his chair.

"We've lost customers," he said, adding: "Sometimes they park on the side street, but they can only park there for so long and they get a ticket."

L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian's office has spoken with a few shop owners on the issue and is pondering the idea of providing satellite parking, though a final remedy has yet to be reached.

"We are actively working to find a solution that would likely result in increased parking for customers of these affected businesses at a nearby location," said Jeremy Oberstein, the councilman's communications director. "Where exactly that location will be is still to be determined, but we expect to have a final answer in a matter of weeks."

Hugh O'Brien, owner of Hugh O'Brien Salon, has his fingers crossed for a solution like that. He says the city could have approached the project differently from the get go.

"What would have made more sense is if they were going to do it section by section," he said.

However, O'Brien said the response he received was that would not be cost effective.

The Magnolia widening project is expected to last at least through early fall.