We need more expensive parking…

I commented on this story a few weeks ago but it bears repeating. The city of Santa Monica commissioned a study by Walker which found that there is plenty of parking (Walker is to be commended for finding that additional garages weren’t needed) and that what was needed was more judicious pricing and management of the parking that exists. Read about it here

However there is a part of this that hasn’t been mentioned. That is the culpability of the local merchants. The deal is that Santa Monica has six huge (what 800 car) garages in its downtown core. The rules are first two hours free. They are being jammed by local workers who take their coffee breaks by moving their cars in and out to get around the charges.

WHERE THE HELL ARE THE MANAGERS OF THESE BUSINESSES? If I found that my employee was taking parking from my customers and taking time off from work to do it, they would be part of the 9.8% unemployed in a heartbeat. How can a business consciously or unconsciously condone such behavior? They spend a fortune to try to bring customers and in clients to their door only to have their own employee put up roadblocks to the process.

As correspondent Mark points out, this is a repeating pattern we see in city after city across the fruited plain.

Santa Monica has a number of lightly used structures and lots in the periphery of the city. How about a well advertised and convenient shuttle to take workers from those sites to their offices. What about allowing a jitney service (all taxicab owners can now start breathing again)? How about adjusting rates so that the first hour is $2 but the second hour is free? How about visiting the chamber of commerce and telling them that they are not the solution to the problem, but they are the problem (Hat Tip to the Gipper).

Sheesh == and that’s just with two minutes thought. Walker, call your office.

JVH