Signs in, toilets out at city parking structures
Santa Monica’s nine downtown parking garages soon will feature signs urging people to call authorities when they witness offensive or unusual behavior.
“It’s like a little neighborhood watch program,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of the Bayside District Corporation. “We want people to be our eyes and ears and call us when they see things.
“That way, hopefully, we’ll be able to identify problems quickly.”
The signs read, “Help keep our downtown clean and safe!” They also list contact numbers for maintenance, non-emergency police and the emergency number, 911.
Downtown parking structures have been called unsafe because many homeless people and transients often congregate and sleep in them.
The signs will cost $6.80 each. With installation, Bayside will pay about $1,000 to implement the program.
Bayside —which manages the downtown core for the city, including the parking structures — is buying 130 of the 10-inch-by-10-inch aluminum signs. Ninety will be installed immediately, while the other 40 will be placed in storage to be used as replacements.
The signs should be posted by the end of this week.
Oscar Delgado, the city’s parking coordinator, said the signs will be posted strategically near elevators and at the entrances and exits at the parking structures to maximize the number of people who will see them.
Rawson said the idea for the signs originated in a Bayside ad-hoc Public Safety Committee. She said the idea was not a new one, and it only became more serious because of the proliferation of cell phones, she said.
Delgado and Rawson said they are interested in getting feedback from people who use the parking structures so they can improve the facilities.
The same ad-hoc committee recommended closing four of the six public rest-room facilities located in downtown parking structures. The suggestion that was later ratified by the full Bayside board and is awaiting city council approval.
Many Bayside members believe the restrooms are unsafe and often left in unsanitary conditions by the transients who use them.
The Bayside board recommended keeping open the restroom in the parking garage at 1440 4th St., because it was recently remodeled.
The other restroom to remain open is up to the city council. Many board members believe the restroom at 1321 Second Street, will remain open because it is the most accessible to the Third Street Promenade.
The other public restrooms are located at 1234 Fourth Street, 1320 Fourth Street, 1235 Second Street and 1431 Second Street.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 21, 2002. Read the original PDF.