City may institute new policy that allows less time in spaces
CITYWIDE Most drivers have done it before: Park in a two-hour only zone and then move the car a few feet or across the street when their time is up.
It’s the easiest way to avoid getting a ticket without having to drive around the block in search of a new parking spot, which, as any Santa Monican knows, could take anywhere from a few seconds to a several minutes if you’re lucky.
The parking spot shuffle, long cherished by drivers looking to beat the system, could soon be rendered illegal under a new law being proposed by city staff and parking enforcement officers who are desperately trying to find solutions to Santa Monica’s parking woes.
Under the proposed law, motorists parking in areas with time-limited parking would have to move their cars at least two blocks, and not re-park them in that same area until a minimum of six hours has passed.
The same goes for parking structures such as those attached to Santa Monica Place. There, drivers can park for three hours. Under the proposed law, drivers would have to drive out of the structure and not re-enter for at least six hours.
The law is an attempt to clarify an existing ordinance limiting parking to a set number of hours in certain areas, said Lucy Dyke, lead transportation planner for City Hall.
“Residents are concerned that time-limited parking is not being enforced effectively, and therefore, they want more preferential parking zones,” Dyke said.
Preferential parking zones have become commonplace in most neighborhoods throughout the city. The zones prevent anyone from parking in a certain neighborhood for most of the business day unless they can show proof that they live in that area and purchase a $15 permit from City Hall.
Some have complained that preferential parking zones push motorists into adjacent neighborhoods without the restrictions, which, in turn, forces residents in those areas to petition for their own preferential parking, creating a situation where all neighborhoods could one day become off limits to visitors.
City planners were going to bring the proposed law before the City Council last week, however, they pulled the item just days before the meeting because of concerns about how best to enforce the law.
No date has been set for the ordinance to go before the council, Dyke said.
“We’re still trying to nail that down,” she said.
The proposed law is expected to make existing time limits more effective by allowing traffic officers to issue tickets for vehicles not removed at least two blocks from a time-limited parking space. The law was prepared at the request of parking enforcement as a means of strengthening the effectiveness of parking enforcement in areas with time limits, Dyke said.
“Moving one’s car just six inches really isn’t enough,” Dyke said. “But when we attempt to define just how far you have to move your car, then it starts to sound silly and that’s the challenge with making a rule like this.”
By better enforcing the law, it is the hope of city planners that residents living near commercial districts will have greater access to parking as turnover of parking spaces will be higher.
News of the proposed change was met with some anger by those motorists who park regularly in the mall structures or on side streets near their work. Others felt the change wasn’t necessary and seemed to be a waste of time.
“It’s already hard enough parking in the structures because you have to move every three hours,” said Katie Segal, who works at a clothing store on the Third Street Promenade that does not provide parking for employees.
“If this passes, then we won’t be able to park in the same structure for the whole day,” Segal added. “That means I’m going to have to take more time from my breaks to drive around downtown looking for another structure, and I’ll probably have to pay more too … I don’t like it.”
Mall structures are free for the first three hours while other structures in downtown charge after the first two.
Some had questions about how the new law would be enforced.
Parking enforcement has the technology available to enforce the regulations, city staff said. Officers are able to stamp vehicles by block number. Notice of the regulations will be posted on each block in which they are effective. The estimated cost is $20 per sign.
If approved, the law would be effective within 30 days of its passage.
“It’s not enough to provide the parking,” Dyke said. “We have to do a better job of managing it so that there is more parking for everyone.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 23, 2007. Read the original PDF.