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Private Ownership of Public Street Parking Meters in LA?
Yesterday, a city council committee was presented with a report (.pdf) on the benefits of privatizing city owned parking meters. Such as a move--Chicago already is doing this--could solve the city's budget crisis, which is looking to be over $500 million. "It’s not like we’re going to wake up tomorrow and the city will have handed over control of its parking meters," Damien Newton at StreetsblogLA notes. "However, because the city is looking to collect a one-shot fee to plug a budget whole for the next two budget years; unless someone stands up to fight the proposal we could end up seeing a rushed process that is all about the city’s short-term budget needs. Such a deal could leave Los Angeles with another significant hurdle to bringing the kind of transportation reform the city really needs."
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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