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I often park at the big parking lot on Barrington Avenue, just south of the Post Office. It’s the one that services the dog park and the playing fields.
Many in the area use it; the place is almost always full. Several residents who live in the apartments and condos on the other side of Barrington park leave their cars here.
During the day, there is a steady flow of cars in and out of the place, and one can usually find a spot, because the back half of the lot, toward the playing fields, is open to the public.

Around 5 p.m., the dog owners start descending on the place. People circle round and round, looking for a place to park. But many parking spots are taken up by RVs, some with people living in them.

This issue – people living inside of vehicles – gets a lot of attention in Venice, but it’s happening right here in Brentwood as well.

Not only are there health issues; these RVs take up needed parking spots as well – as do all the business trucks and delivery vans that use this parking lot as a permanent parking place. At 10:30 p.m., the back half of the parking lot (next to the playing fields) is considered closed, and if you haven’t moved your car to the front of the lot by then, you’ll be written a ticket by 10:31 p.m., I guarantee you.

I can’t see any logical reason why this back half of the lot can’t stay open at night, unless it’s all about generating ticket revenue. Why not leave this section of the lot open so the neighbors can use it?
On the weekends, the lot becomes a total mad house, with all the kids playing soccer or softball – and all the dog owners – converging at the same time.

Probably not too many people know this, but there’s a guy named Al who cultivates a “toy garden” of sorts, surrounding several of the trees that align Barrington with little plastic figurines. Be sure to look next time you walk by or park here.

What is not much of a secret is that when the President of the United States comes to Los Angeles, the playing field here is used as a place for the presidential helicopter, Marine One, to land and take off (the land is owned by the VA, federal property). There are usually three helicopters as part of the entourage.

This is a very high-security event; all the cars, RVs and delivery vans are instructed to move out of the lot a few days before the big arrival. Several hours before a takeoff or landing, police, sheriffs, a fire truck, secret service and an ambulance show up. Barrington gets closed, people in the nearby apartments and pedestrians watch from behind the yellow tape.

When the president comes or goes, several black vans with tinted windows parade in or out of the lot. President Obama (or his lookalike) gave a big wave last time, which was fun – but the ensuing motorcade which wreaked havoc across the entire Westside was not so much fun. People seem to get more riled up about this than they do about healthcare or deficits.

Anyway, if we all open our eyes and take a moment to see what’s right in front of us, we might actually “see” something for the first time. And maybe that something is actually quite interesting.

Got a place in Brentwood you’d like the rest of us to “see”? Send your observations (with photos) to jeffhall@brentwoodnewsonline.com.

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