Santa Monica is having a bumpy relationship with its parking situation this year. A few months back the city had a consultant reassigned for suggesting it reduce its minimum parking requirements (well, that and he used the word "NIMBY" in his bio); now its planning director wants to put parking meters on residential streets. According to Santa Monica Daily Press, "the proposed pilot program would use some of the 350 new parking meters planned for the city to line streets that branch off of major commercial corridors like Wilshire, Santa Monica or Lincoln boulevards." Residents with parking permits would be allowed to park at metered spots for free, but there's concern from the council and residents alike about the aesthetics. It turns out that parking meters are not particularly attractive, and people don't want them blighting their neighborhoods. At this week's city council meeting, where the plan was first floated, there was a debate over traditional meters versus the multicar kiosks. While the latter are less obtrusive, they are also way more expensive ($20,000 per space compared to $800 for the old fashioned kind) and less effective. Not a great combo. "Officials hope they will be able to find a neighborhood somewhere in the city that will welcome the meters, if only for a short time to test out the idea."
· Parking meters may be coming to residential streets [SMDP]
· SaMo Freaking Out Over Plan to Slash Parking Requirements [Curbed LA]
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