Boyle Heights residents have seen it all when it comes to finding a place to park: cars in the red, blocked driveways, double parking and even people sitting in lawn chairs to save a spot. At times, disputes over parking spots have escalated into arguments between neighbors.
The longstanding struggle for parking in the neighborhood only seems to be getting worse as more developments go up across the city — often with limited parking — and multi-generational households share space. Many people have memorized their block’s street sweeping schedules and no-parking zones to avoid a ticket.
That frustration is showing up in the data.
Parking tickets in Boyle Heights have increased at a rate much higher than the city of Los Angeles as a whole, making it one of LA’s most ticketed neighborhoods, according to an analysis of city data by Crosstown. Residents say they aren’t sure what could help remedy the issue but acknowledged that multiple parking tickets feel even heavier as gas and grocery prices rise.
What the numbers show
Last year, Boyle Heights was the sixth-most ticketed community among the city’s 114 neighborhoods, receiving a total of 60,695 citations, an average of 5,057 per month.
Between 2023 and 2025, the number of parking tickets handed out across the city of Los Angeles increased by 4.9%. In Boyle Heights, however, the rise was more than three times that — the 60,695 citations dispensed in 2025 was 17.6% more than two years prior, the Crosstown analysis of public parking citation data shows.
That is likely an undercount, as city citation data is not available after Dec. 14, 2025 (the Los Angeles Department of Transportation was unable to identify why this happened or when it will be fixed). Even so, the increase in Boyle Heights surpasses that in some other frequently ticketed neighborhoods. Van Nuys registered an increase of 4.5% during that time, while citations in Hollywood fell by 9.6%.
Some areas suffered even sharper rises: Tickets in downtown and Koreatown rose 21% and 33.5%, respectively.
Hernan Gabriel, who has lived in Boyle Heights for 10 years, said parking hasn’t always been easy, but tickets have been part of his routine.
On a recent afternoon, he stood outside his home near Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Chicago Street, keeping an eye on the time before street sweeping restrictions began.
“This is my first ticket of the year,” Gabriel said, as he pulled a $73 parking ticket from the dashboard of his truck that he received in February.
But it hasn’t been his only one. In 2023, he racked up over $2,800 in parking tickets while working deliveries downtown.
“Since I received those tickets, I’ve been paying closer attention,” Gabriel said. While he has access to a parking spot at his home, many of his neighbors don’t.
A disproportionate impact
Not only are tickets increasing in Boyle Heights, but residents are being cited at higher rates than in much of the city.
People in the neighborhood of roughly 81,000 residents received 60,695 citations last year — about 0.75 tickets per resident.
Citywide, the rate is significantly lower: 0.48 citations per resident, based on 1.87 million tickets issued across Los Angeles.
The types of violations also mirror city trends but at higher concentrations.
Approximately one of every four tickets written in Boyle Heights is for parking in a street sweeping zone — a $73 infraction. Last year, 16,776 such tickets were issued.
Driver Tip: The city’s Bureau of Street Services has an automated system for reminder notices; register your address to receive text messages 24 and 48 hours before street sweepers hit your block.
The second-most frequent infraction is parking in a red zone — a $93 hit. In Boyle Heights, these made up 20.9% of the community’s total, well above the citywide rate of 12.4%.
Stephanie Sanchez, a lifelong Boyle Heights resident, has gotten used to the struggle of looking for a spot and avoiding parking tickets.
“It’s expensive,” she said. “I’ve noticed people from a couple blocks away coming to park here or people who live here going a couple blocks away just to park because it is so cramped.”
Last year, Sanchez received five parking tickets totalling over $350.
“[I could] buy more groceries, lots of things for my day-to-day living. It would help with gas because gas is ridiculous right now,” she said.
What LA officials say
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) said the number of citations issued across LA is a “direct result of posted restrictions, driver behavior, and officer staffing.” According to the department, of the 502 traffic officers deployed citywide, 115 serve the Central Division, with 24 officers specifically assigned to Boyle Heights.
In response to community concerns regarding street congestion and parking, LADOT said in a statement, “street improvements require identifying specific locations and coordinating between multiple City departments. LADOT remains committed to collaborative solutions that address the needs of every neighborhood.”
A spokesperson from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office echoed the community’s sentiment about parking issues in the neighborhood and said Jurado is looking into addressing them.
Boyle Heights hot spots
The most ticketed location in Boyle Heights is Cesar Chavez Avenue and Chicago Street, where 1,070 tickets were dispensed for illegally parking in a bus lane, a $293 infraction.
Just south is the neighborhood’s second-most ticketed location. A 76-space public parking lot at 249 Chicago St. produced 669 citations in 2025. Most were for an expired meter.
On the stretch of Cesar Chavez between Boyle Avenue and Fickett Street, more than 3,200 bus-lane parking tickets were given out. On a recent visit to the area, there were no easily visible signs warning about bus zone infractions.
No easy fixes in sight
For many residents, solutions feel limited while the problem gets worse.
Maria Solis and Orlando Cervantes have lived in Boyle Heights for 30 years and said finding a spot to park in their neighborhood is harder than ever before. After 5 p.m., it is nearly impossible, Cervantes said.
They suggested limiting how many cars a single person can have.
Another more obvious solution would be for the city to create more parking lots but that comes with its own problems. “The more parking there is, the more cars you will see,” Solis said.
Sanchez echoed that concern.
“Theres no space to even create like a parking lot, even then I feel like that would be expensive to pay for a spot,” she said.
