> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # SMC students are feeling the parking pinch - URL: https://www.smdp.com/smc-students-are-feeling-the-parking-pinch/ - Published: 2005-03-17T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T06:17:29.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Education, Pico, #archive-import *City Hall to eliminate free parking zone near campus* CITY HALL — Some of the last free parking spaces available in Santa Monica are about to disappear, unless City Hall and Santa Monica College can agree to a compromise. Members of Santa Monica College’s Associated Students, an elected body that addresses student concerns at SMC’s main campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., voiced concern last week in front of the City Council over 150 parking meters that were installed earlier this year on Pearl Street between 16th and 17th streets. “If the city of Santa Monica prides itself on being progressive, you would think it would help address student parking needs,” said Jeronimo Saldana, SMC’s Associated Students president. “But the council seemed indifferent to our request.” City transportation planner and director Lucy Dyke said the meters were placed on Pearl Street during the winter break because of complaints her office received that parking congestion blocked traffic. “The meters were installed in order to try to encourage the immediate parking on Pearl Street for short-term use,” Dyke said. “Students who needed parking for long-term use would be encouraged to seek it at one of the college’s parking structures.” However, Dyke said City Hall has held off on activating the meters. “There are meter posts and housing for the meters, but there are no mechanisms in place to collect money,” Dyke said. “The city was requested by the college to not make the meters active. “There are no definite plans to install the money-collecting mechanisms until there is some final resolution.” The city of Santa Monica typically charges 75 cents per hour for metered parking. Saldana said SMC students are asking City Hall to charge 25 cents per hour, with a maximum of four hours per vehicle allowed at each meter. He said such rates would give most students the time they need to park and attend their classes without having to worry about paying the meter or risk getting a ticket. Saldana said SMC students also would like City Hall to consider changing the status of preferential parking in the area so students can park on residential streets from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which are peak hours at the campus. Currently, parking is prohibited in residential areas around the campus unless people have permits, which are not available to students. SMC’s director of advertising, Don Girard, said the college is working with City Hall to develop a plan to improve parking availability around the main campus. “We’re trying to preserve the middle class, and we’re going to need partners in doing that,” Girard said. “The college only wants to discuss the issues that will improve the quality of life for students and their access to courses. “One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that Santa Monica College is part of a regional economy, and it will need regional solutions,” he added. Girard said one-third of SMC students live in Santa Monica, and two-thirds of students who attend the college commute from outside the city. Girard said parking at SMC’s main campus is limited, and the 150 spaces on Pearl Street are an important part of the parking access available to students. In addition to the 150 spaces on Pearl Street, students who drive to campus may pay $75 for each winter and spring semester to park in one of two sites, a parking garage and a parking lot. Girard said SMC sells the same space several times, with a four-or five-time turnover expected daily. Students said at the City Council meeting that parking on those sites is difficult during peak school hours, and not guaranteed. There also is free parking available at the Santa Monica Airport, where a shuttle transports students to the main campus, Girard said. About 1,700 students use the shuttle one way daily, Girard said. Students said the parking at the airport is often congested. Also, students driving to campus said they sometimes need to wait up to two hours in the mornings to get a space at the airport. Besides driving alone or carpooling to campus, Girard said students also can drive part-way and park in commercial streets away from the main campus, then bike or take the bus. Some councilmem-bers suggested student drivers park in neighborhoods in Brentwood if needed, then take the bus. It’s estimated that about 2,500 students use the bus on a daily basis, Girard said. But students said that the buses are often overcrowded, stuck in traffic just like other vehicles, and that transferring from different modes of transportation causes them to spend hours every school day commuting — time they said they would rather spend studying. Councilman Richard Bloom said the parking problem near SMC’s main campus is not just a problem for college students. “There is also not enough parking at John Adams Middle School,” Bloom said. “The college needs to look into providing another parking structure.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/031705-02_01.jpg) to the Daily Press City Hall recently put up parking meters outside of Santa Monica College, but students don’t have to feed them yet. (Photo: Kim Calvert/Special) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 17, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)