The massive changes along Broadway have brought with them a massive array of complaints: From claims that the busy thoroughfare is more dangerous, to proclamations about the loss of parking, many residents in Alamitos Beach have shown their allergy to change. The city is hoping to alleviate those concerns by altering street sweeping regulations and adding parking spaces.

Beginning July 8, street sweeping service will “take place within the curbside bike lanes, eliminating the need for traditional street sweeping service and the inconvenience of having to move vehicles to accommodate the service,” according to a release from the city. This means drivers who park their cars on Broadway will no longer have to move their vehicles twice a week.

A friendly reminder: Until the service rolls out in July, parking along the corridor will be enforced as usual.

Perhaps making residents even happier will be the addition of 65 new parking stalls, thanks to a reconfiguration on Appleton Street between Alamitos and Junipero avenues.

“The goal of these changes is to ease some of the parking concerns raised by residents and businesses along this portion of the Broadway corridor,” stated District 2 Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce. “Working with Public Works, we were able to identify new solutions to long-standing parking issues, and we thank the community for their input and patience during the recent street construction.”

While this might sound like good news—residents have long begged for more parking—there are much larger issues that have to be discussed: The excess of cars revolves around a multitude of problems, ranging from the need to commute to work efficiently (lending to a faulty transit system) and multiple tenants pooling their resources amid a housing crisis (lending to three or four or more vehicles attached to two-bedroom apartment spaces that depend on street parking).

In other words: more parking will not solve our problems.

Brian Addison is a columnist and editor for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.