This guy is so sad. He paid $20 for parking and now can't afford to hit any music venues. | Photo by ClownBog via Flickr The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is notoriously known for its high parking prices. As the Sunset Strip Music Festival approaches, we decided to see to test Sunset Strip business owner's claims of the myth of high priced parking. On a short drive down the famous boulevard, especially on......

To help balance Los Angeles' massive budget for the next Fiscal Year, parking fines are to be increased $5 across the board. The move begins July and will raise an additional $6.6 million towards filling the $406 million gap in the budget, according to the Daily News. Originally, City Council looked into increasing the fines $10 to $15, raising up to $20 million extra, but had worries it would lead to voter anger and violence......

Here's a sign of the times. This bike rack at the Variety/E Channel Meridian Club building on Wilshire normally has three or four bikes on it. This day, bikes (including mine) had to be locked to parking meters because the rack was full. Related: Gas is currently averaging at $4.60 a gallon for regular in Los Angeles......

UCLA Professor Donald Shoup has been saying it for years: "inexpensive parking fosters urban decay, contributes to sprawl and motivates people to drive alone." How? It's that circling around effect, you know, when looking for spaces, avoiding valet. "Low meter rates can further congest city streets as motorists search for cheap parking spaces," the LA Times writes. "Studies in New York indicate that motorists on the hunt represent about 28% of all traffic on Manhattan......

Slowly we've seen man replaced by the machine, but at 3 parking lots in Long Beach they're powering the machines with a force even more powerful: the sun! According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the LBC's "Redevelopment Agency has replaced the honor boxes at three downtown lots with solar-powered pay stations." These units run on the energy generated by "a solar panel that's placed on top of the pay station." Even better yet, these machines......

Now that the average price for regular unleaded gas in L.A. is nearing $4.07 a gallon, Metro's Gold Line is surging with customers. A record 22,231 boardings was reported for the month of March says the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Not only that, Metro's rail ridership has increased 5%. Still, the Gold Line beats all the other lines and is beginning to look like the San Fernando Valley Red Line station parking lots, which fill......

Joy and happiness surround the new park and pay stations in this photo of a citizen with a park and pay ambassador | Photo provided by the City of LA The Department of Transportation caught wind of yesterday's confusion at the Park and Pay Machines in Silver Lake and decided to take a stab at explaining what happened. "What occurred in this case is that after inserting their quarter, the customer pressed 'OK' twice......

In January, Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti announced that City Hall and other downtown facilities would provide bicycle lockers, more racks, access to showers and a subsidy to City Hall staffers who ride a bike to work. Yesterday, Garcetti blogged that they have already won an award, the Rideshare Diamond Award, for their efforts. In other bike facility news, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a bike/walk tour that is open to......

The new Park & Pay meter system is now in effect in Silver Lake -- at least along both sides of the 3500 block -- where we found people gathering in confusion at this meter outside Millie's this morning. The Australian-made Reino meters are not as imposing or as ugly as traditional meters, and while you can pay with change, cash, or credit card, it is paperless -- there is no receipt needed to post......

Taken on outside of Intelligentsia in Silver Lake on Sunset Blvd. | Photo by LAist News Editor Andy Sternberg What's the update on these? From the Department of Transportation (.pdf): In Spring of 2008, LADOT will begin to replace an additional 5,000 on-street parking meters with advance technology single space meters and multi-space Park and Pay Stations in locations throughout the City. Each parking space will have a designated number and the customer only......

Downtown Los Angeles maven and blogger Eric Richardson posted an observation today about street construction and its lack of impact on traffic. Specifically, he speaks of a transformer that's been sitting in the northbound curb lane on 6th street for several weeks. This very lane is designated for traffic during peak hours and parking otherwise, but during rush hour, traffic seems to be been fine. Richardson ponders... "if the city's content to let the lane......

Living in an RV in San Pedro just got a little harder, at least for the next 30 days. Councilwoman Janice Hahn announced a new pilot program making it harder for RVs to park in the "designated RV restriction district in South San Pedro." New street signs installed state that no parking will be allowed for oversized vehicles between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. “These oversized vehicles cause neighborhood blight and present safety......

The city of Los Angeles is struggling over a $406 million dollar shortfall, forcing them to look at ways to cut costs and increase revenue. One obvious idea on the revenue side of things: parking tickets. It was mentioned two weeks ago that the city could raise an extra $20 million by adding 8,600 miles to the street sweeping schedule, therefore allowing more opportunity for parking enforcement. But the Daily News' most recent coverage of......

Photo by jslander via Flickr If one popular restaurant single handedly caused enough of a parking problem that the LA Times' Burbank Leader is writing a feature article on it and it became a city council election issue, then it's time for the city of Burbank to think a little more about their poor public transportation system and walkability of the suburban Magnolia Park area in the city's westside. Since the popular Porto's Bakery......

Earlier this year, Mayor Villaraigosa introduced his 2008 Traffic Relief Initiatives, which outlines ten proposals for improving driving conditions throughout the city (full document downloadable here). One of the initiatives is called "Pico East Olympic West" (or, alternatively "Olympic West Pico East") which was labeled a "Priority Express Corridor." The three-phase project will see a "seven-mile stretch of both streets between La Brea Boulevard and Centinela Avenue" have more "consistent rush hour parking restrictions"......

LAist Featured Photos contributor discarted submits these two below photos and asks "Can anyone figure out the whims of the Parking Enforcement these days? For months, years even, they’ve ignored this “grey” space, but then all of the sudden they decided it’s illegal to park here, citing it as a “red zone.” This is not even close to a red zone – am I missing something?" No discarted, you did not miss anything. Our best......

Photo by Beige Alert via Flickr Since the perk of giving Hybrid owners a free ride when it comes to Los Angeles city parking meters has been in the news lately, the always fiscally conservative Daily News opined on the issue today: "The right thing is for the council to kill the hybrid car perk." Even though the estimated losses are little, "a drop in the bucket," they say, the Daily News stays with......

Dear LAist; So the City Council changed the law for hybrid car parking on Friday, then reneged it yesterday. So as of today, what the hell can I do?So here's the deal: As of right now, the pilot program for hybrids that has been in effect for the last few years is still current today. That means that the four hybrid vehicles -- Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius, and the Ford Escape Hybrid......

Announced and passed last Friday in a Los Angeles City Council session, a hybrid owners perk of parking free was extended to 2011. Then yesterday, they reversed the decision. If it makes you angry, blame Bill Rosendahl who brought it up. "This was a great incentive when we first did it," Councilman Bill Rosendahl as quoted in Daily News. "But hybrids don't need assistance from us. They already are getting a benefit from the savings......

Photo by timsamoff via Flickr Last night, approximately 120 Eco-Village neighborhood residents, friends and family gathered at Virgil Middle School for the LAUSD's 4th site selection meeting and to hear the District's final recommendation on the location of the new school. In a stunning tribute to the Eco-Village's reputation as "problem-solvers" the LAUSD site selection representatives announced that they would be recommending to the School Board that the Eco-Village proposal be accepted, which means......

The Hollywood Coalition of Neighborhood Councils is hosting a Town Hall on Thursday night to address "Parking, Planning and Transportation." In an effort to entice attendees, the Coalition promises "plenty of free parking," thereby demonstrating a commitment to an old, tired paradigm of transportation that will continue to result in the gridlock, congestion and frustration the Coalition purports to address in the Town Hall. The Coalition is missing a big opportunity to encourage the community......

Getting a parking ticket just downright blows, agreed? It can be the ultimate day-ruining moment, especially if you're having the proverbial "one of those days" to begin with. However, LAist Featured Photos Pool contributor faerymkh submitted a shot of the ticket they found on their windshield recently, that had an added message from a thoughtful and anonymous individual. To explain:A stranger left the message "Bummer that you got a ticket but they suck and......

These murals outside Pincher's Liquor on Pico were some of your favorites this week on LAist | Photo by Osmany Rodriguez/LAist When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities......

Photo by Salaam Allah West Coast Transitphotography KING! via the LAist Featured Photos pool It sounds really boring: California Health and Safety Code Sections 43845. However, within that state code is a something pretty neat: if your place of work has 50 persons or more employed for them and subsidizes leased parking for your and your fellow employees, then they must participate in the Parking Cash-Out program offering you a cash allowance in lieu......

Photo by ryanwhiteacre via Flickr In a follow up to "Found in LA: We Know You Went to USC, But Where Did You Learn How to Park?" LAist Featured Photos Flickr contributor, ryanwhiteacre, sent the above to us. We'll be publishing a coffee table book soon, including a section devoted to USC.......

A reader, Zach, submitted a question last week about RVs parking on his street in Hollywood: I live on Gower, south of Sunset, and my street is always filled with homeless people living in RVs. Is there any recourse I can take to get them to leave? Are they breaking any laws?Technically, these folks are not breaking the law... yet. And all this can change in a matter of a few months all because LADOT......

Know how to raise billions of dollars for public transportation? Metro wants to chat with you today at noon in their third live internet chat. "Tell Metro Board Chair and Santa Monica City Council Member Pam O'Connor where you think the money should come from to pay for future transit projects and keep the system running," a press release states. "Should it be a half cent sales tax? Public/private partnerships? Parking fees? Toll roads? Or......

So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses......

Empty Trader Joe's Parking lot at 3rd and LaBrea.......

The Los Angeles Fire Department has announced a Red Flag Parking Day that will begin tomorrow morning at "08:00 AM to Wednesday, January 2, 2008 08:00 AM or until further notice." Those who violate Red Flag Parking sign restrictions risk getting ticketed, but more likely being towed. This is not good timing for the Holidays, but fire knows no tactful way of saying "hello." Image provided by the Los Angeles Fire Department......