My Transportation Proposal #2 dealt with parking (you mean you didn’t read it?!). One of my issues was that parking restrictions are bad for business. I have a little parking story to illustrate that point.
Last Saturday I wanted to go to a store on Beverly Blvd and King St. When I got there the small parking lot behind the store was full. I did not have any change in my car for the meters, so I decided to look for street parking. I found that all of the streets in the area were permit parking-only on the weekends.
The streets south of Beverly were filled with parked cars because there are a lot of apartment buildings. However, the streets north of Beverly, consisting of private houses, were empty of parked cars.
Then I stumbled upon a one block stretch of Oakwood Ave that inexplicably had no restrictions. I was able to nab the last spot and walk the one block to the store.
Had it not been for that parking spot, I would have left the area and not shopped at the store, thus costing it business. How many other people left in frustration when they could not find a spot? Or how many people avoid that area (and others like it) because they know it will be difficult to park?
The situation becomes even more frustrating when you drive past spot after spot and cannot park there because of the restrictions. They make sense if residents truly need those spots (like those blocks south of Beverly), but restrictions are not necessary on the other blocks.
Here’s an idea. Although I would do away with all unnecessary restrictions, I can somewhat understand why they are on residential blocks. So how about if the restrictions stay in place on the north-south blocks where the houses are, and are removed on the east-west blocks, which generally contain the sides of corner houses (although I know there are some houses on east-west streets)?
Need more proof? Check out this photo of the rest of east-west Oakwood Ave. Are parking restrictions really needed?
