More than 400 citations have been issued in the past several weeks for containers stored illegally in Wilmington neighborhoods following a...
More than 400 citations have been issued in the past several weeks for containers stored illegally in Wilmington neighborhoods following accounts documenting how the ongoing cargo surge at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has impacted the community.
Chief of Los Angeles Port Police Tom Gazsi gave the report during this week’s Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners meeting.
“We’re very aware of the impact it’s having,” he said of the spillover of empty containers that have been moved out of the port to make more room for cargo ships to offload full containers.
Port trucks also have crowded onto residential streets, said Gina Martinez, president of the Wilmington Neighborhood Council.
The issue sparked even more attention when an unsecured container on a truck slipped and pancaked a parked car on Anaheim Street near McFarland Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 19. With a bus top nearby, Martinez said, it was fortunate no one was killed or seriously injured.
“Anybody could have been walking there,” Martinez said. “The big question becomes at what point do you intervene, at what point do you step up and say something needs to be done?”
Martinez was among residents who arrived at the scene right after the container fell on the car.
“My heart dropped,” she said of the sight. “All I could think of was, ‘Please, don’t let anybody be in there.’”
Restrictions exist that outline what streets the heavy drayage trucks can use, but, Martinez said, the massive vehicles are still often seen rumbling down residential streets and sometimes blocking driveways.
“There are a lot of rules in place to protect the community,” she said, “but what there isn’t is enforcement.”
The city of Long Beach, meanwhile, said on Friday, Oct. 22, that it will temporarily waive enforcement of shipping container stacking and height limits for 90 days to help relieve overcrowding at the ports.
“It has recently come to the city’s attention the Municipal Code contains zoning provisions that limit the number and/or height of shipping container storage,” a news release from the Long Beach City Manager’s office said, “that if relaxed for a short time, could provide some assistance during this national crisis.”
The move would only apply to properties that are currently zoned to allow shipping container stacking, the statement said.
In Los Angeles, harbor Commissioner Lucia Moreno-Linares — the first public official to raise the issue of containers on Wilmington streets — has called for more enforcement.
Port-related traffic in Wilmington, though, has long been a problem. In April, for example, Martinez told harbor commissioners that port-related traffic comes straight through Wilmington and had become a growing concern among neighbors, who fear negative impacts on health, pollution, visual blight and safety.
Port truck and shipping container storage yards are increasing, she said at the time, sending more trucks through neighborhoods and taking a toll on the condition of the community’s streets.
Gazsi, who is also the deputy executive director and chief of public safety and emergency management for the LA port, told commissioners during its Thursday, Oct. 21, meeting that Port Police and code enforcement officers are looking into capacity and other issues.
“We know we have much work to do,” Gazsi said.
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