SSN Commentary

Cancel Parking Fines for Unhoused People Who Live in Their Cars

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University of California-Los Angeles

Originally published as "Cancel Parking Fines for Unhoused People Who Live in Their Cars," Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2021.

One morning in late April, several unhoused neighbors living in their vehicles off Venice Boulevard awoke to find their windshields marked by the notorious, red-striped envelopes used by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s parking enforcement.

The city relaxed its parking restrictions earlier in the pandemic, but a new sign forbidding parking from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. had recently appeared. Over the next few nights, more tickets appeared. Although some people were able to move their vehicles, others were not because of a combination of inoperability and unease.