By Helen
Gao
San Diego Union-Tribune
February 18, 2008
PACIFIC BEACH – It's not just La Jolla that's considering
charging for street parking. A nascent debate is brewing in
Pacific Beach over whether to install meters to increase
turnover in parking spaces near the surf and raise money for
public improvement projects.
A citizens advisory committee is studying a consultant's
report that recommends metered parking and parking permits for
residents and employees of Pacific Beach businesses.
The $26,000 report was paid for by a business improvement
council. Ever since it was released last month, it's been a
hot topic of discussion, generating strong reactions from
residents – most of them negative.
Walker Parking Consultants suggests setting several tiers
of parking rates that vary depending on the season, time of
day and location.
| OVERVIEW
Background: Pacific Beach has long
grappled with a limited number of parking
spots in congested commercial areas near the
beach.
What's changing: Consultants hired
by a business improvement council proposed
installing meters and requiring residents to
get monthly parking permits.
The future: An advisory group is
reviewing the proposal. The Pacific Beach
Parking Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. on the
second Thursday of every month at the Pacific
Beach Recreation Center, 1405 Diamond St. Any
change would need approval by the San Diego
City Council.
Information: pacificbeachparking.org
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Motorists would be charged up to $3 per hour in the summer for
a beachfront spot from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those willing to walk
several blocks to the beach could get a spot for a quarter an
hour.
Residents in metered areas would be charged $5 to $10 per
month for a permit. Those who work at Pacific Beach businesses
would also qualify for permits, but fees for them would range
from $15 to $20 a month.
The advisory committee, formally known as the Pacific Beach
Community Parking District, expects to spend months debating
the ideas before deciding if and when to forward a plan to the
San Diego City Council for a vote.
Most against meters
Most people interviewed on the streets of Pacific Beach on a
recent day were against meters. Residents have also begun to
attend committee meetings to make their opposition known.
“Parking already sucks enough. I will never come here if
I have to pay to park,” said Sarah Kim, 24, a La Jolla
resident who frequents Pacific Beach.
Some people believe charging for parking would
fundamentally alter the laid-back feel of Pacific Beach, which
attracts droves of young people with its bars, restaurants,
tattoo parlors and boutiques.
"It's a beach town. It's not downtown San Diego. Why
meter it and take away the feel of a beach community?” said
Eileen Wagoner who manages an eyewear store on Garnet Avenue.
Warren Barrett, a 19-year Pacific Beach resident who owns a
home two blocks from Garnet, said parking problems are not bad
enough to warrant meters.
“We accept that on some busy days in the summer and some
other holidays that it might be a little more difficult to
find a space,” he said. “We deal with it. We live with it
and we are fine with it. Everybody I've talked to feels the
same way.”
Gordon Froehlich, another longtime Pacific Beach homeowner,
worries that meters will push visitors deeper into residential
neighborhoods in search of free parking, making it harder for
homeowners and their guests to park.
Driving in circles
But Mike McNeill, president of the business group Discover
Pacific Beach and chairman of the parking committee, wants to
give meters a try. Based on what he has learned about how paid
parking has worked in places such as Pasadena, Newport Beach
and Santa Monica, he believes Pacific Beach would benefit from
it.
Too often, he said, people drive in circles trying to find
free parking, ignoring pay lots. If street parking is not
free, McNeill expects there will be less cruising –
therefore less congestion and less gas wasted – because more
people will park in the pay lots.
Parking fees would also generate revenue that could be used
for community projects, such as fixing streets and sidewalks
or planting trees. A parking district typically gets to keep
45 percent of the meter revenue, and the city gets the rest.
“We've got this gem of a community. It's just getting a
little rough around the edges. It needs some
revitalization,” McNeill said. “Our real estate is very
expensive. The real estate on the street should be treated
like the real estate we live in. We are just giving it
away.”
Enforcement issues
McNeill said he believes better parking enforcement is needed
in conjunction with meters.
In the commercial corridor near the beachfront, parking is
free but limited to two hours at a time from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If meters are installed, they would not have time limits and
would likely be modern machines that accept credit cards and
bills.
Melisa Tintocalis, the city's community parking district
manager, said it's hard to enforce the two-hour limit. In
order for a traffic enforcement officer to ticket someone, it
takes one visit to mark the tires and a second visit to issue
the citation.
“With meters, it's much more efficient to enforce,”
Tintocalis said, because an officer needs to make only one
visit to see if a meter is paid.
A proposal to install meter stations in La Jolla's central
retail district in and around Prospect Street has also been
contentious. Although the La Jolla Community Parking District
advisory board has been discussing paid parking for months, it
hasn't voted to forward a plan to the City Council for
approval.
The Pacific Beach parking board, one of six parking
districts authorized by the City Council, has 13 members:
three from Discover Pacific Beach, three from the Pacific
Beach Town Council, three from the Pacific Beach Community
Planning Committee and four at-large representatives.
Helen Gao: (619) 718-5181; helen.gao@uniontrib.com
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