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Shoupism in Santa Monica (and Beyond)

Via the Los Angeles Times:


Santa Monica’s discussion reflects a vexing reality — that parking has an “unbelievable power . . . to shape and distort cities,” said Ventura City Manager Rick Cole.

“It’s illegal for a car to be homeless but not for people,” he said. “As a result, we devote a huge amount of extraordinarily valuable real estate to asphalt and concrete and then we give it away.”

Ventura, which does not charge for street parking, plans to install meters in January, three years after it first committed to market-based pricing. “You have to break the initial barrier of charging for parking,” Cole said of the delay.

He speaks from experience. As mayor of Pasadena in the early 1990s, he helped broker a deal with Old Pasadena retailers that paved the way for paid parking. All the meter revenue went into area amenities, which strengthened demand, turning Old Pasadena into a municipal cash cow.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Parking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Shoupism in Santa Monica (and Beyond)”

  1. Rob Puentes Says:
    October 20th, 2009 at 7:05 am

    And one today from the Washington Post today:

    Free parking spots could sprout meters
    Arlington may join others in telling drivers to use mass transit or pay up

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902455.html?hpid=newswell

  2. spiderleggreen Says:
    October 21st, 2009 at 8:22 am

    I used complain about parking meters and lack of parking in some areas of town. Not anymore. Make it expensive to drive. People need incentives to change.

    Also, loosen the zoning laws, to let businesses disregard parking space requirements. What a crazy notion! You shall provide space for cars next to your business! Where are the libertarians on that one?

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Traffic Tom Vanderbilt

How We Drive is the companion blog to Tom Vanderbilt’s New York Times bestselling book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K, and in languages other than English by a number of other fine publishers worldwide.

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