NEWPORT BEACH : Public May Comment on Parking Plan

The city will hear public comments today on a proposal to restructure parking in the Balboa Peninsula’s commercial area in an effort to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

The first part of the plan would eliminate six metered parking spaces from Main Street, leaving intact the three-minute parking zone in front of the post office and the commercial loading zone at the Balboa Pavilion.

If approved, the plan would include removing some of the trees on Main Street as well.

The Balboa Merchants and Owners Assn. has requested the change to get visitors out of their cars and walking among the shops.

Long-range plans for revitalizing the area also include adding more tables and benches and other improvements for pedestrians.

Drawings of the improvements will be on display at the meeting.

A city study of the area bears out the association’s observation that most of the metered spaces are used by employees of the area’s businesses, who run out to add money to the meters periodically during their shifts.

The meters generate about $4,000 a year in revenue, the study notes.

City officials and merchants believe another part of the plan, to re-stripe the city parking lot at the Balboa Pier and add 40 spaces, will more than offset the lost parking on Main Street.

The council will also consider spending $22,400 to replace a cash register, ticket dispenser, ticket validator and control gate at that Palm Street lot, which generates $1 million a year for the city.

Marine Department officials say up to 2,000 cars may use the lot on a busy summer day, and the new equipment is necessary to ensure the smooth flow of cars.

In a related action, the council will consider prohibiting left turns onto 21st Street from eastbound Balboa Boulevard, where cars stopping to turn left block through traffic.

Some drivers make sudden and often dangerous lane changes to avoid being caught in the resulting backup, according to Traffic Engineer Richard Edmonston’s report to the council.

The problem is worst on Friday and Saturday nights, when restaurant traffic is heaviest.

There is no room for a left turn pocket and reconstructing the intersection would cost $20,000 to $25,000, Edmonston noted in the report.