BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 213|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 213
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 8/18/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 11-0, 6/9/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicles: parking
SOURCE : City of Long Beach
DIGEST : This bill allows the City of Long Beach, under
specified conditions, to permit parking on the left side of
two-way local residential streets that dead-end with no
cul-de-sac or other designated turnaround area.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/18/09 limits the bill to the
City of Long Beach.
ANALYSIS : Under current law, drivers must generally park
their vehicles in the same direction as the flow of traffic
(i.e., on the right side of two-way roadways and on either
side of one-way roadways). The premise for this
requirement is that it helps to avoid head-on collisions
with oncoming traffic that would be risked when entering or
exiting parking spaces that face the flow of traffic.
CONTINUED
AB 213
Page
2
Under current law, a driver may back a vehicle onto a
street or highway only when such a movement can be made
with reasonable safety.
This bill allows the City of Long Beach (City), by
ordinance or resolution, to permit drivers to park vehicles
on the left-hand side of residential streets that dead-end
with no cul-de-sac or other designated turnaround area, if
the City makes a finding supported by a professional
engineering study that the ordinance or resolution is
justified by the need to facilitate the safe and orderly
movement of vehicles. The City may limit application of
the ordinance or resolution to certain streets or portions
of streets, and the ordinance or resolution does not apply
until the City erects proper signage.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/09)
City of Long Beach (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Peninsula Beach Preservation Group
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the Peninsula area of Long Beach has a significant number
of narrow, parking impacted, dead-end streets with no
cul-de-sacs. It is very difficult for drivers to turn
around on these streets, and when they do, the likelihood
of a fender bender accident is great. As a result,
residents and visitors have long parked their vehicles
facing the wrong direction on the street, in violation of
the Vehicle Code. The city has issued parking citations
for these offenses, which has led to frustrated residents
who believe it is safer to park facing the wrong direction
than to turn around. This bill allows a city to permit
left-side parking on such streets provided that it
facilitates the safe and orderly movement of vehicles.
AB 213
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3
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez,
Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Davis, Hall, Lieu, Ma, Tran
JA:nl 8/18/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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