Lovely Meter Maid

For those belly-aching about the recent rise in parking meter rates, check out KPCC's segment in which UCLA urban planning professor David Shoup reveals that the hike in rates is actually good for you. Yes! Good for you. And Mother Nature. "We all think about parking from a self-interested point of view... The added money will pay for benefits that everyone wants," says Shoup. Higher rates means less CO2 emissions because drivers typically roam around looking for cheaper parking, and Shoup points to Pasadena as the role model: The city charges higher prices for parking and uses the money to improve the area. All told, 6,000 new digital meters being installed around the city, all part of an effort to raise $18 million a year for our cash-poor city. [KPCC]