The Santa Maria City Council has approved a limited parking zone in a neighborhood off Bradley Road.
“No parking any time, except by city-issued permit” signs have gone up across the neighborhood after dozens of residents banded together over parking and safety concerns.
People who live off of Payton Way say that it’s become difficult to find any street parking.
“It’s incredibly hard to have company. My mother watches our children while we work. She would have to sometimes park several blocks down just to come watch the children,” said Santa Maria resident Robert Galindo.
There are also safety concerns. Shattered glass covered part of the sidewalk along Payton Way on Wednesday and some cars were double parking and blocking part of the street.
One resident shared a photo showing more than two dozen bottles of beer and alcohol that were picked up off the street in one day.
“I got kids and it’s unfortunate that we have to be hypervigilant and watching them when they’re out front,” said Santa Maria Resident Jeremy McNeil. “People speed through here all the time. We have people sleeping in their cars, drinking.”
Another resident shared a photo of a recent sobriety test being conducted in the area as well as a video showing a fight in the middle of the street.
“It’s rough. You worry about your kids playing outside, you worry about the traffic,” said Galindo. “There’s an extreme amount of trash, vandalism.”
People who live in the area brought their concerns to the Santa Maria City Council, which approved a limited parking zone on April 4.
“We’re extremely organized when it comes to communicating issues in our neighborhood and we’re very vocal about bringing that forward,” said McNeil.
Residents will now need a permit to park on the west end of Payton Way as well as side streets stretching west to Bradley Road.
Overnight parking will no longer be allowed on the east end of Payton Way and the south side of Frederick Street between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“Hopefully, we can get this resolved and get a little bit of safety back to our neighborhood for our kids,” said Galindo.
Residents say that parking and safety are still an issue since enforcement hasn’t officially begun.
The process started when residents voiced their concerns to the traffic committee, which recommended the limited parking zone to the Santa Maria City Council.
