By John Brown III Santa Monica
I am writing this letter in response to recent articles I have read about a variety of parking issues in Santa Monica.
There is no right to parking. Public street parking is a service commodity that the city of Santa Monica should sell to the highest bidder. They should increase the amount of metered parking they offer and the fees collected by these machines. If an area, neighborhood or business is asking for parking, they should be ready to pay for this service. The city should see this as an opportunity to increase its revenues and not give away for free or next to nothing what rightfully belongs to the general public.
The parking problems that exist today are from several sources. One is the acceptance of development, both commercial and residential projects, that does not adequately provide for parking on private land. Variances should not be given to any new projects or remodels without addressing the need for parking at that location.
Another is the use of preferential parking zones. Preferential parking zones do not work. They move the problem up and down the streets, encourage fraud and add stress to neighborhoods. Besides why should a tenant or an employee have preferential access to a public street over anybody else needing parking such as a guest or customer?
An additional source of parking scarcity is our dependence on our cars for transportation. Anyone driving around these days with gas hovering at $3 a gallon can afford to pay for parking. If a city wants to encourage the use of public transportation, they should restrict the access to free or privileged parking. Increased parking fees and revenues could eventually fund buses, light rail and other transportation infrastructure without depending upon the state or federal government.
Destinations that charge high fees for parking are not suffering from a lack of use. Downtown Los Angeles, Century City, Beverly Hills, Dodger’s Stadium, the Rose Bowl, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Disneyland, USC, UCLA, the state beaches and most other desired destinations are all examples of how high popularity can equal high parking rates and increased revenues.
These higher costs shift the burden of choice to the consumer and away from the politicized process of decision making by the city.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 28, 2006. Read the original PDF.