Last week, Los Angeles began a parking sign revolution with the debut of new, easier-to-read parking signs that are aimed at reducing parking tickets and upping meter revenue. For the six-month test, 100 of the new signs will be installed in Downtown on Main and Spring Streets between Second and Ninth, but that's just phase one of the overhaul in one of America's most parking-happy places, and the city thinks that "If successful, this signage could change parking signs across the nation." But first it would have to change parking signs across the city. Here are all the details on how the project will go:
This part of Downtown was chosen because of the "complexity" of parking regulations there, but also because of the number of tickets issued there. The first signs went up this past Friday, but by "mid-late April" all 100 should be up in the designated test area, according to the city website for the project. These signs will accompany the old, wordier signs, although they'll both display the same information. (LADOT was only allowed to experiment with signs if they left the existing ones up.)
The newly installed signs are embedded with Bluetooth "beacons," which it's hoped will be used in the future to help provide real-time parking data to spot-seekers (the city is seeking app developers). During the six-month trial, the city will both solicit community feedback (via a survey here) and conduct its own evaluations of how well the new signs are working.
The location for the second half of the pilot project hasn't yet been determined, but it'll probably be in either Hollywood or Downtown, and it'll include the gradual phase-out of the old signs until the new signs have completely replaced the existing ones. It might also result simply in new limits on how many parking signs can be tacked up on one post at a time, to avoid ridiculously tall parking sign towers. (A limit of either three or four signs per post is being considered.)
Aside from the grid version above and below, the city is also considering this simplified design:
And here's the grid that's already up:
· LADOT Parking Sign Pilot Program [Official site]
· LA's New Simple, Readable Parking Signs Going Up in Downtown [Curbed LA]
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