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Michael Dukakis, the Democratic candidate for president in 1988, lives in Westwood's North Village during his part-time teaching gigs at UCLA. For two years, the LAT says, he has been campaigning for enforcement of the law against blocking sidewalks by parking on driveway aprons in the neighborhood. The city now agrees with him — parking tickets equal revenue in City Hall math — but the coming crackdown has students upset. The North Village has just 857 curb spaces and something like 5,700 vehicles belonging to residents. Parking is so tight that even the ticketers have mercy, but Dukakis got his way through an unusual route.
He first talked to city officials about the parking situation two years ago. Dukakis then turned to a colleague, UCLA urban planning professor Donald Shoup, author of "The High Cost of Free Parking."Shoup made the parking dilemma a project for his students. The result was "The Dukakis Project."
"He was the inspiration, and it helps to have a big name on your side when you are tackling an issue such as this," said Adina Ringler, a 26-year-old graduate urban planning student.
The study looked at the consequences and costs of the illegal parking and suggested solutions, including paid permit parking and curbside meters. But more important, the Dukakis Project prompted Shoup to send a letter to city officials that said that apron parking violated the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The letter got the city's attention. The letter was sent to City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, as well as to L.A. Police Chief William J. Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The city then decided to crack down on apron parking.
"How would you like to be someone who is blind and using a stick, trying to get across those sidewalks?" Shoup said.
Says the former Massachusetts governor: "You can't get fire equipment out there. Beyond that, you can barely walk on the sidewalk. And for years, no one had done anything about it. It's crazy."