By Barbara Filet Santa Monica
Parking near the beach is a complicated matter, requiring creative solutions to fairly provide access to a scarce commodity (“Knocking their spots off,” Jan. 22, page 1).
It is true that the California Coastal Commission does not look favorably on creating yet more preferential parking districts, making beach access more difficult.
However, the commission does not object to a city charging for that parking, even in residential neighborhoods. So, one alternative to creating yet another preferential parking district is to install nicely designed meters on those residential streets favored by beach or Farmers’ Market parkers. There could be one master meter per block and residents could be exempt from paying to park at the meters. One variety of this idea is to create a residential parking benefit district and give residents a cut of the parking revenue to use to improve their neighborhoods. Parkers could be given a debit card for coin-free parking.
I would love to see a pilot program of this kind near the beach or Santa Monica College.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 27, 2007. Read the original PDF.