Parking meter increase backfires big-time
Tom Ahern
Several months ago, the Laguna Beach City Council raised parking
meter rates from $1 to $1.50 per hour in a vote strongly opposed by
Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman. The purpose was to wring more revenue
from visitors, since most Lagunans have parking stickers. The
unintended consequence was that Laguna businesses have seen sales
plummet. Many must lay off employees and many may have to close as a
result.
It is unclear whether parking revenues have increased, but it is
clear that sales of many Laguna businesses have been decimated.
Several report that sales in November are down 50 to 60% from
November 2001. My bookstore was down 31%. Our sales to residents were
steady, but sales to visitors and regular customers who don’t have
Laguna stickers were down more than 50% (we know this because our 10%
frequent buyers discount club records customer addresses). This is a
Laguna-only phenomenon, directly traceable to the parking meter
fiasco, since similar stores in town nearby report that sales were
the same or higher than in November 2001.
Many Laguna businesses are struggling because of this blunder.
Many will probably go under or move because of it. Many have already
committed to moving out of Laguna. If the situation does not improve,
I will have to move Latitude 33 Bookshop to a town which is friendly
to business or sell it to someone who will probably move it.
The loss in city sales tax revenues will undoubtedly be far more
than any gain in parking revenues. (The city gets 1% of all retail sales.)
Customers are outraged, and the backlash of their boycott of
Laguna is obvious. To park in Laguna for two hours, they must put 12
quarters in the meter. The council had indicated they would extend
the meters to three hours, which would mean 18 quarters. To park in
the new Crystal Cove shopping area or Corona del Mar or Aliso Viejo
or any mall, the parking cost is zero, because they don’t have any
meters.
Merchants gladly supply meter change, but few customers will get
out of their car, come in and get change, feed the meters and then
return. Instead, their shopping time is defined by the number of
quarters already in their pocket, purse, or car, and they get a third
less time than before. Many customers say they feel that Laguna Beach
is gouging them at the meter, and they are not buying here now or
coming back.
Customer are also furious at the meter maids, notorious for their
overzealous patrols to give out $29 tickets. Customers who get
parking tickets do not soon return to Laguna.
The merchants are livid, not to mention very worried for their
survival. Their sales are down because customers spend less time
browsing. For most stores, browsing and sales are in lock-step. They
take the brunt of the negative comments about Laguna parking from
customers. When Chamber President-elect Ken Delino talked to 40
merchants about their problems, every one mentioned their anger at
how badly the meter increase had hurt their business.
With much shorter meter times, customers rush in and rush out.
When they buy, they are in a hurry to pay quickly. They say they need
to rush back to their cars before they get a ticket. If there is a
slight wait, they leave their intended purchases anywhere and leave
without buying.
Parking revenue is the heroin of the Laguna Beach city government,
which before the increase got around 11% of its general fund from
parking sources: meter and lot collections, in-lieu parking and other
fees and fines. Eleven percent is triple what most cities in Orange
County get from parking. The city wanted an extra million dollars,
and parking was the quickest way to get it.
Why doesn’t the City Council lower costs rather than raise taxes
and fees like parking meter fees? I feel it should cut the bloat of
hostile bureaucrats, abolish programs that should have been
terminated long ago and contract out city functions that can be done
much more cheaply by private industry. Laguna Beach has the most
expensive government per capita of any city in Orange County, so
there is lots of room for cuts.
What is the solution?
* Rollback. In the short run, the City Council must roll back the
increase as soon as possible.
* Alternative to meters. The Chamber of Commerce has offered to
form a task force with the city to study solutions that don’t involve
mounds of quarters, but the council ignored the offer. Long range
alternatives to parking meters must be found. Many towns and cities
have replaced meters with parking ticket dispensers like the one in
the Peppertree parking lot, but ones that accept bills and
credit/debit cards, as well as coins. These can be programmed as to
time allowed and different seasons. The city already buys 200
expensive electronic meters per year, so replacing 10 such meters
with a ticket dispenser is feasible.
* Recompense. The meter increase blunder has cost many Laguna
businesses tens of thousands in lost sales. Suspension of the highest
business license fees in Orange County is a small way that the
council could offset the losses it has caused.
* Extend time to three hours. The City Council told the Chamber
of Commerce that it would extend the parking time limit to three
hours, but reneged. Three hours allows for meals and movies, for
decent shopping rather than hit-and-run shopping. We need a
three-hour limit.
* Long-term parking and traffic circulation study and action. On
Nov. 19, a vote to issue an request for proposal for such a study,
which was strongly advocated by the parking, traffic and circulation
and vision committees, was calendared 31st of 35 items. The council
voted to table it. The council should stop dragging its feet on
parking and traffic issues. Parking and traffic should be very high
priorities, just after public safety, not lower ones than hedge
height.
What can you do? The City Council is highly cognizant of the
people attending its meetings and the squeaky wheel gets the grease,
so merchants and citizens alike need to demand action.
* Send letters or e-mail to each council member demanding
immediate action.
* On Dec. 17, let the council hear you by attending the City
Council meeting and letting them know how you feel. Every affected
merchant and concerned citizen needs to show up to express his or her
dismay at the council’s blunder and demand remedial action.
* Monitor the City Council regularly to make sure they don’t let
parking and traffic issues fall through the cracks again and again.
* TOM AHERN is the owner of the Latitude 33 Bookshop. He served
six years on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, including two
years as its president.
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