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8/14/12 San Pedro, Wilmington welcome removal of parking meters - latimes.com

1/4www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0814-parking-meters-20120814,0,1752219.story

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Business owners in both neighborhoods lobbied City Hall, arguing that the meters and parkingrate hikes have cut into their sales and cost jobs. Some of the meters will be used elsewhere inL.A.

By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times

August 14, 2012 , 2:09 a.m .

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San Pedro, Wilmington welcome removal ofparking meters

18Recommend

City Hall has been squeezing every penny out of Los Angeles

motorists in recent years, approving hundreds of new

parking meters and repeatedly jacking up parking fines.

But one corner of Los Angeles has managed to buck the tide,

convincing the City Council not just to remove hundreds of

meters but to reduce rates by up to half on the machines that

remain.

On Monday, San Pedro civic leaders conducted a ceremonial

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Du a n e Odom of th e L.A . Depa r tm en t of Tr a n spor ta t ion ca r r ies a pa r kin g m eter r em ov ed on Pa cific

A v en u e in Sa n Pedr o. Hu n dr eds of m eter s w ill be r em ov ed a t th e r equ est of bu sin ess ow n er s. (Don

Ba r t let t i, Los A n g eles Tim es / A u g u st 1 3 , 2 01 2 )

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FROM AROUND THE WEB

parking meter beheading to celebrate an extraordinary

victory: the removal of 645 parking meters in their

community and nearby Wilmington.

The campaign to remove the meters was launched in 2009,

after Los Angeles officials — urgently looking for cash —

quadrupled the cost of parking in downtown San Pedro, from

25 cents to a dollar an hour. The backlash from merchants

and neighborhood leaders was strong and swift. The change

was driving away customers in the middle of a recession, they

argued.

"The city gets quite a lot of money from writing tickets and

philosophically, it doesn't want to lose that," said Andrew

Silver, owner of the Whale & Ale in San Pedro. "I understand

that it brings money into the city. But it's disastrous in terms

of generating more retail sales, more sales tax revenue and

more employment."

The protests quickly reached then-Harbor area

Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who has since been elected to

Congress. Parking meters became an issue in the election this

year to replace her, with the top candidates pledging to

address merchant complaints.

The area's new councilman, Joe Buscaino, has worked to

eliminate hundreds of less frequently used meters on the

outskirts of the San Pedro and Wilmington business districts.

The city would lose only $45,000 per year by dumping the

meters, once reduced maintenance costs are considered, he

argued.

Buscaino said his district was competing with other

communities — Torrance, Long Beach and Rancho Palos

Verdes, among others — where parking is offered free at

shopping malls and elsewhere. "We're surrounded by

business-friendly cities, and one of the reasons people

weren't spending money were the parking meter rates," he

said.

Buscaino's initiative also cut the rates of the remaining

meters in downtown San Pedro from one dollar to 75 cents an hour in some places and 50 cents in

others. Parking also will be free in two city-owned lots, and the amount of time shoppers and others

can leave vehicles at metered spaces will be doubled, from one hour to two.

The Harbor area retreat on parking meters and fees comes just weeks after council members voted

to hike parking fines for the sixth time in seven years. And though San Pedro and Wilmington will be

losing meters, other neighborhoods will be getting more.

Additional meters are planned for Westchester and Palms, where business owners have complained

that motorists tie up parking spots all day.

Buscaino said his colleagues have already approached him about installing the surplus meters in

their districts.

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Copy r ig h t © 2 01 2 , Los A n g eles Tim es

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Comments (9) Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ

michael g at 10:06 AM August 14, 2012

Here's a novel approach: Perhaps we should demand that all of those parking meters beplaced in front of the homes/streets of our Mayor and the members of the Los Angeles CityCouncil...??

mw033410 at 7:51 AM August 14, 2012

Public should open their eyes - the government is only in business to pay their salaries,pensions and life health care. They don't care about you - they will find ways of taking itfrom you. Occupy LA had the wrong target - thus the reason you have the mayor - if thatswhat you want to call him express support for occupy - it keeps them from realizing the realproblem.

upWising at 7:30 AM August 14, 2012

Here in the Land of the Fined and Home of the Slaves, parking in front of one's own house,on the streets paid for by one's gas tax and property tax payments, has become a cash cowfor municipal governments.

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