Questions and Answers About Your Commute : Burbank May Ticket 3 Times in Same Day

Dear Traffic Talk:

I commend the city of Burbank for its downtown revitalization, but I consider the parking situation I recently encountered to be downright hostile.

I was ticketed for parking in front of an office building on Glenoaks on a Saturday morning. I didn’t notice the sign that said one hour parking and got a $25 ticket. I thought the fine was excessive, but it was my fault.

But then I got a second ticket just an hour and 13 minutes later! I consider fines totaling $50 for parking on a side street in front of a nearly empty office building for three hours on a weekend to be totally unconscionable.

Is Burbank trying to recoup some of the millions it spent to attract business to the city by such mean-spirited ticketing?

Donald M. Gately

Valencia

Dear Mr. Gately:

In Burbank, you can be cited for the same infraction up to three times in one day, according to Linda Benson, parking enforcement supervisor in Burbank.

A parking officer who cites you for parking past the allowable time limit must wait the length of the time limit itself to cite you again. In other words, in a one-hour zone, you can be ticketed any time after you exceed the one hour limit; after another hour has passed since the first ticket, you can get another one. In a two-hour zone, the minimum limit between tickets is two hours, and so on.

However, in Los Angeles, you can be ticketed for the same offense only once per day, according to Michael Inouye, L.A. parking administrator.

Dear Traffic Talk:

Maybe I am a bit behind the latest signing projects on the San Diego Freeway, but I have not noticed a sign near Mulholland Drive for the University of Judaism on Mulholland Drive. There should be a sign on both the south and north directions of the freeway.

The new Getty and Skirball museums seem to be well represented.

Carl J. Lanzl

Sherman Oaks

Dear Mr. Lanzl:

The California Motor Vehicle Code says you have to have essentially 1,000 full-time students--or the equivalent--enrolled at a university to get a freeway sign.

Caltrans engineers say they have requested enrollment figures from the University of Judaism, but have received no response, according to Pat Reid at Caltrans.

Dear Traffic Talk:

I frequently see potholes and make a mental note to report them. I have been calling (818) 756-8121, but I have waited on the phone for half an hour to talk to someone and I haven’t been able to get through. Do you have any additional information on how to report potholes?

Evelyn Zebker

Woodland Hills

Dear Evelyn:

You’ve been calling the right number--sort of. When you call (818) 756-8121, you are transferred to the operator, who transfers you to the main service request center in downtown Los Angeles. This has probably resulted in the time delays.

To call directly, dial (213) 485-5661. Or you can write to Bureau of Street Maintenance Service Request Center at 200 N. Main St., Room 1545, Los Angeles 90012-4869.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic in the Valley. Please write to Traffic Talk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted. To record your comments, call (818) 772-3303. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to [email protected]