It seems the city of Oakland, actually a rather well run municipality by California standards, has about 230 spaces that it gives rent free to city workers. If those spaces were rented to local citizens, they would generate about $400,000. This would mean that libraries could be kept open, rec centers not closed, etc.
Try as they might, they could only find about 30 spaces that they could claw back and rent out, the remaining 200 city employees were just too high on the totem pole to pay for their parking.
Free Parking is truly an oxymoron in Oakland.
Hat Tip – Mark
JVH
One Response
I had the pleasure of working for this vibrant City. It is worth noting that only a handful of employees got free parking, largely justified by their work related needs. Oakland’s City Council meetings regularly go past midnight. City does not expect its directors and key executives to walk a few blocks that late, hence free parking is provided. Others getting free parking include some technicians, engineers and inspectors who make several trips to various field locations daily, and need to access their personal vehicles without wasting time walking a few blocks on city time. A nearby City (and I won’t name it) spent over $30M of tax payers money to build a brand new garage exclusively for their employees (free parking)! Now that’s a story!