Signs were put up on Colfax Avenue first thing Thursday morning to deter any further curb painting games between the city Department of Transportation and some blatant scofflaw who keeps painting the curbs back to gray again.
The new signs will take away four parking spaces from the edge of Studio Village apartments where a wall creates a severe blind spot when exiting the compound, and extend in front of the apartment complex at 4365 Colfax Avenue on the west side of the street.
"Whoever was doing this is rather brazen," said Tony Duke of the city Department of Transportation who repainted the curb for the fifth time. "At this point I'm beginning to think it is some narcissist who thinks he can get away with it. He enjoys the attention, like a game."
Representatives fromoffice were on the scene. Communications director and Studio City representatitive were both on hand to answer questions from people passing by and walking their dogs.
The red zone has been painted over gray again three times in the past six months and just last week it happened the day after the city painted it again. Some in the area nickname him the Colfax Curb Coyote, who may consider it a red-gray tagging game. But the $800 cost to the city could warrant the culprit a felony vandalism charge.
Studio Village manager Nancy J. Brown said that a car that was parked in the re-painted zone last night and was "egged and slimed" overnight. "I don't know who did it, but at this point the people should know better about parking there with all the publicity—even if the red is painted over."
Sidney Mandell, who is on the board of the Studio Villlage complex, said, "I am delighted about these signs going up. It is the only solution that will stop this going on."
Ute Speck, walking past the new signs with her dog Curly, said she was happy to see the more restrictive parking go up, even though it means losing four parking spaces. "People can park up the street or around the corner, it's not so bad," she said.
"It is crazy getting out of the driveway," said Speck, who lives at 4311 Colfax a few buildings away from this red zone. "This is someone who wants more parking spaces for their cars. We will see how long it lasts."
Duke, who has had tussles with sign vigilantes before, said, "Yes, it's even possible that people take down the whole sign. It happened before and we had to cement the sign into a giant block of cement so they couldn't pull it out as easy. When it comes to their parking, people sometimes don't stop."
