A wildflower war is blooming in Walnut Creek.
Each spring, thousands of people caravan to Shell Ridge to take pictures of California’s iconic wildflowers.
Among them are influencers who drag their mountain bikes and camera equipment through the delicate flower beds.
To protect the city's largest open space from the onslaught of visitors, local neighborhood groups are fighting back.
This past weekend, they placed signs at Shell Ridge's Sutherland Drive entrance. It's an effort to prevent crowds from clogging the street Saturdays and Sundays, unless they have a parking permit.
"Walnut Creek has 18 open spaces and everybody uses this one, so we've had our streets completely piled with cars, double-parked going in both directions," said Elise Fornaci with the Virginia Court Sutherland Neighborhood Committee. "We can't get to and from our houses because people are paused on the road."
The head of a neighborhood association said in the past two years, drivers have clogged the streets from the end of March to about May.
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They have also blocked fire hydrants, mailboxes and prevented emergency vehicles and garbage trucks from getting through the area.
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