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L.A. Spends Millions Of Dollars On Those Flimsy Temporary Parking Signs
The city puts up 558,000 of these things a year (Photo by Atwater Village Newbie via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
The L.A. Department of Transportation spends a surprising $9.5 million each year on about 558,000 of those flimsy temporary parking restriction signs that sometimes baffle us. And to handle an expected increase in filming, LADOT says they'll need to spend an extra $635,000. The numbers come from a recent memo talking about an expected increase in filming due to California's new 2015 film incentives, Deadline reports. About half of the temporary parking restriction signs are currently related to filming.
The average cost of each sign is about $17 as of 2011, a number that includes the physical sign itself ($12.19), plus the cost of installation and removal. LADOT's solution to handling an increase in signage will be to hire more people and buy new equipment to make the signs more efficiently.
That means the department will be spending about $475,000 on the extra staff, plus $160,000 for the new equipment and software upgrades. Therefore, LADOT says they would like a cut of the permit fees the city charges film crews (an estimated $1.8 million) before it gets deposited into the city's general fund.
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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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