

Portuguese Bend Nature Reserve (Photo via Facebook)

The neighbors of Rancho Palos Verdes' Del Cerro Park aren't too happy about the popularity of a nearby hiking trail. Their complaining has rewarded them with limited parking, which may not actually do anything to dissuade nature lovers.

Portuguese Bend Reserve, which has an entrance near Del Cerro Park at the end of Crenshaw Blvd., is a very beautiful and bucolic area that hikers love. The park's neighbors, however, are not in love with the hikers, according to the Daily Breeze. They say that social media has sparked an increase in the number of visitors, and they're sick of it. They took their complaints to a City Council meeting on Tuesday. The neighbors complained that the hikers like to talk to each other and that they slam their car doors. They leave trash in the streets and they take up all the parking, the neighbors lamented.

Megan Moore, president of the Del Cerro Homeowners Association, even claims that the neighborhood has had a "dramatic increase" in both crime and graffiti over the past two years. That, however, isn't true if you ask Sgt. Thomas Arellano of the Lomita Sheriff's station. While he said that deputies have noticed a lot more people in the area, there have only been a grand total of five reported crimes this year. Crime has actually been down since 2012. However, he noted, people don't always report graffiti.

Ultimately, the City Council moved to paint the curb red on one side of Crenshaw Blvd., and implement permit parking on residential streets for homeowners and their guests. This move brings 82 parking spots down to 40. This will go into effect next month. Other suggestions included creating a 16-spot, residents-only parking area next to the park and adding pay stations, the latter of which residents opposed.

Some residents, however, also worried that the deceased parking would encourage visitors to park in other neighborhoods. As Curbed LA noted, this is public land that visitors are totally free to enjoy. City Manager Doug Willmore, who pointed out that the issue is a balance between responding to complaints and making sure the area remains accessible, said, "We don't know what the unintended consequences will be yet, but if someone drives an hour to go on a hike, they're not going to turn around and go home because they can't find a parking space."

Portuguese Bend Reserve consists of 399 acres and was preserved in 2005, making it the largest of the 10 reserves in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, according to the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy.

Here's some of that pesky social media that neighbors say is responsible for the area's increased popularity: