Parking Woes

Your March 24 article on parking in La Jolla prompts me to express my dismay (“Giving No Quarter”). The scofflaws that you interviewed should (and probably do) understand why parking restrictions exist in La Jolla, but are only concerned with their own convenience. It is illegal to wipe marks, or even to move a car to a nearby spot in an attempt to circumvent the law.

The current system exists because the La Jolla Town Council recommended it to the city of San Diego. Residents and retailers want the shopping area of the village to survive, and the best way to do that is to support limited-time parking.

What other alternatives would the scofflaws recommend? Meters? No restrictions? Unlimited free parking for employees? Almost everyone I know who works in a busy commercial area has to pay for parking. Why should La Jolla be any different?

If it’s time for a change, let the residents and retail businesses of La Jolla decide what’s best for the community and work with San Diego city government to implement a new plan. But before we throw out our current plan, let’s think through the impact of allowing people who work in the village to take a parking place for eight hours instead of keeping that space for a dozen or more shoppers who are supporting the village merchants.

Employers, think about paying for parking your people; there is plenty available. Or do you want to drive the shoppers and the retailers out of the village? The decision is up to La Jolla, not the meter maids who are only enforcing the law, and not even San Diego officials, who passed laws that La Jolla said they wanted in the first place. Let’s keep the parking restrictions the way they are, support the meter maids, and embarrass the scofflaws who do not care about the long-range health of La Jolla.

KENNETH KING, La Jolla