Parking by permit won’t solve problem

It’s most unfortunate that attempts to deal with parking issues in one area of Laguna have led to a proposal for preferential parking in which residents may be granted special parking privileges on the public streets ? with nonresidents not permitted the same access.

Laguna Beach may rue the day that preferential parking came to town. Preferential parking in one area inevitably leads to preferential parking in other areas.

It has a “domino effect” because the need for parking cannot be wished away. Drivers accustomed to parking in one locale will be forced to turn to new avenues to find spots for their vehicles ? no ifs, ands or buts. Pushing a parking problem onto other areas is no solution ? it just spreads the misery.

Preferential parking should be used only as a last resort and only as a temporary measure until parking can be provided through the construction of parking structures, shuttles or other means.

In the case of the so-called Flatlands area ? a busy stretch of neighborhood next to South Coast Highway and major hotels, restaurants and retail shops ? it is simply too early to impose such a draconian measure.

The threat of preferential parking has induced at least one major employer in the Flatlands area to acquire off-street employee parking and make changes to its operation to avoid creating parking deficits in the neighborhoods.

In the not-too-distant future, the Old Pottery Place (former Pottery Shack) will be fully developed, with a 41-space parking garage to serve businesses.

Other proposals that should reduce parking on neighborhood streets are in the offing, including eliminating some parking meters and parking time limits in the commercial areas.

With all these measures in place or on the horizon, there may be no need for preferential parking ? an onerous bureaucracy that residents will not enjoy.

We hope Flatlanders will give the parking-friendly measures a chance before locking themselves into a system that is neither friendly nor convenient ? for themselves, the businesses that depend upon an adequate parking supply for their livelihoods, or for the rest of the city.