California Government To Motorists: No More Free Parking

[Spectre]

Courtesy of the LA Times, the latest idiot proposal/law to screw the taxpaying motorist from the California Senate - hand out taxpayer money to eliminate free parking:

State lawmakers take aim at free parking
There is too much of it, they say, and it encourages people to drive instead of taking the bus, walking or bicycling. A Senate proposal would prompt cities and businesses to reduce its availability.

State Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) wants cities to reduce the availability of free parking. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times / October 8, 2008)

By Patrick McGreevy

January 29, 2010

Reporting from Sacramento - State lawmakers are taking aim at what some of them see as a menace to California's environment: free parking.

There is too much of it, the legislators say, and it encourages people to drive instead of taking the bus, walking or riding a bike. All that motoring is contributing to traffic jams and pollution, according to state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), and on Thursday he won Senate approval of a proposal he hopes will prompt cities and businesses to reduce the availability of free parking.

"Free parking has significant social, economic and environmental costs," Lowenthal said. "It increases congestion and greenhouse gas emissions."

Republicans opposed the measure, saying the Legislature should not be meddling in how much people pay to park.

"If local governments want to entice people to shop or do business in a particular area, that is entirely their business. Not the state's," said Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach).

The bill, supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Sierra Club, provides financial incentives for cities and counties to stop providing free parking on the street and at government offices and to reduce the amount they require businesses to provide.

Cities that take such action could get more state money for parking garages and transit programs and bonus points in competing for state grants.

When a store provides free parking, the cost to maintain, clean, insure, secure and light the parking lot is passed on to shoppers in higher prices for goods, said Justin Horner, an analyst with the NRDC. Free street parking is paid for by the entire community in the form of higher taxes, he said.

Lowenthal said that when businesses pay for their employees' parking, more of them drive to work.

"It's nice that we've been treated to this luxury," Lowenthal said. "The problem with free parking is it's not free."

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

Apparently California wants to have no retail business in the state at all. My guess is that they think that once parking is paid, they can then tax it more. Too bad they didn't think it through entirely...

And remember, this has already passed the CA Senate; I'm sure the CA House will rubberstamp it.

 

[AiR]

How much of street parking is free over there in California?

 

[Spectre]

How much of street parking is free over there in California?

It's not street parking that's the larger issue - basically they want to eliminate free parking lots for businesses. Edit: Well, free parking lots for any reason.

 

[Cobol74]

People were talking about the same mad idea here a while ago - an election has gotten in nthe way, mark my wordes it will come back as an idea no matter who get in power - they have the same issues, and employ the same management consultants so sounds like they have the same "solutions".

Pah - Our Politicians suck big time!

 

[Top Geek]

Does anyone else secretly wish that a massive earthquake separates California from mainland North America and it floats far, far away?

 

[Spectre]

I'll settle for it sinking into the ocean, taking the supermajority of the occupants with it.

 

[nouseferaname90]

meh. I normally live in a really conservative part of the state with one of the lowest sales tax rates in the state. The county or city would find some way to get around it, especially since there are countless retail spaces still for rent (like newly constructed ones that have been sitting for a year in counting)

 

[tigger]

Apparently California wants to have no retail business in the state at all. My guess is that they think that once parking is paid, they can then tax it more. Too bad they didn't think it through entirely...

And remember, this has already passed the CA Senate; I'm sure the CA House will rubberstamp it.

I wish they would just call it what it is. All this bullshit about the environment is just that; bullshit. They know people have to drive. It's all about generating a little revenue to balance their screwed up budget.

 

[Spectre]

Remember that California really wants to ban the personal automobile outright, but they know that won't fly. Incremental steps like this towards their goal are the order of the day for them; the fact that they can combine this with a theoretical new tax revenue source is just icing on the cake.

 

[Cobol74]

Is California Republican or Democrat - I though that the Governator was Republican?

 

[tigger]

Yes, the governor is Republican (the Governator ), but both their Senators and 2/3 of their Representatives are Democrat.

 

[Spectre]

The governor is Republican, but he doesn't have much power. Most of the power in the state (as with most states) is in the legislature which is overwhelmingly Democrat and has been for decades.

 

[thevictor390]

'Republican' can be pretty broad in scope nowadays, too.

 

[Spectre]

Agreed - witness the advent of the 'RINO', a Republican In Name Only. This is someone who is a Democrat in outlook and record, but ran on the Republican ticket to get elected for one reason or another.

 

[argatoga]

This isn't mandatory for cities. Any city who adopts this measure deserves to have their economy die.

 

[MadCat360]

Facepalm California, facepalm.

 

[Blind_Io]

How much of street parking is free over there in California?

Pretty much... none. They even tripled the price of motorcycle parking in San Francisco right after I left.

(good timing).

 

[hiimandy1]

So they reduce parking at businesses...so people go drive further to a place they can park???

Did anyone else find it amusing that the communities that enact this "...will get more money for parking garages..." for reducing their free parking? Ummm...

 

[thedguy]

Pretty much... none. They even tripled the price of motorcycle parking in San Francisco right after I left.

(good timing).

In San Francisco. Fuck that place, it takes everything anyone can (and does) hate about California and turns it up to 11. The rest of the bay area and much of the state is VERY different.

State Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach )wants cities reduce the availability of free parking.

I now hate the people of Long Beach. This is just fucking retarded. We don't have the public transportation infrastructure to support such legislature. About the only part that does is San Francisco. Why not let LB try this legislature out first, at least then your residents can stop clogging up the 110/710/605/405.

If they truly want to encourage usage of more efficient means of transportation, the perhaps they should built it FIRST.

What about those of us, like myself, that are in industries where we can't use/rely on public transportation. No way I can go back and forth to various job sites via the patchwork of bus and train systems in the area, it would take me 4 hours to get to Van Nuys and the entire time I'd be taking up the back half of the bus with equipment.

 

[TC]

I think this is bullshit too. Just another revenue scam disguised as altruism.

On a semi-related note, I was thinking about something the other day while sitting in my sad little cubical at work. The government should really push businesses into (at least offering more) telecommuting, with incentives etc. If I could telecommute, I could cut down my driving by 90% easy. If more people did likewise, there would be less traffic congestion, less accidents, less deaths, less pollution, etc. Our multi-million dollar office building, to which they're planning to build another 2 structures just like it next door, would be largely unnecessary.

But then I wouldn't be spending as much money on gas, so I suppose that idea would never get passed our government.