Norwalk Boulevard merchants tell council bike-lane study must protect street parking

Business owners along Norwalk Boulevard told the Hawaiian Gardens City Council on June 11 that they learned too late about a city study of bike lanes and warned that removing street parking would harm small merchants.

The comments came during the public-comment period. Kathleen Wickelman said she represents her mother, Helen Gonzalez, who owns three commercial units; Wickelman said property owners received little or no notice about the proposal and as a result did not have an early opportunity to weigh in. “Nothing was mailed nor emailed to the property owners,” she said. “A few people here and there received flyers, but that information did not get passed on to all the property owners and businesses that would be impacted by these bike lanes.”

Wickelman said her group is not opposed to bike lanes in principle but is opposed to removing curbside parking on Norwalk north of Carson. “We would have had the opportunity to speak up sooner,” she said, and urged council to consider alternatives that would preserve parking. She suggested moving the bike lane onto the sidewalk and removing a line of palm trees to create space, while acknowledging additional barriers and costs would be required for that approach.

Kyok Kim, who identified himself as a small-store owner on Norwalk, told the council that most nearby shops “100% rely on the street parking” and that losing curb spaces would make it difficult for small businesses to survive and to keep tenants. Susie Vigil, another Norwalk business owner, said she is at her shop Monday through Friday and that no one had come to the door to explain the proposal; she said that losing parking “would ruin the businesses” and suggested the city pursue downtown-revitalization options that preserve customer parking.

Nimo Rambari (listed in meeting materials as a public works/rec staff member) was thanked by speakers for explaining the process and directing them to project information. Council members did not take action on the study at the meeting; the discussion consisted of public comment asking that city staff ensure direct outreach to affected property owners and evaluate alternatives that retain parking.

City staff did not present a formal motion or vote on the bike-lane study during the June 11 meeting. Council members asked for public input and were told by speakers they had included a written proposal with alternative design suggestions.

The Norwalk discussion appeared only in public comment; the council did not adopt or reject any specific design at the meeting. Speakers asked the city to notify property owners directly and to consider designs that would preserve on-street parking or otherwise mitigate economic impacts on small businesses.