The Jan. 10 City Agenda Report prepared by Parking Master Plan Subcommittee reveals a proposal to embellish eighteen parking lots and build eleven new parking structures throughout Laguna. The report does not give amortized cost information.
I was looking for a way to impress residents with the cost of these parking structures, so I took Project ‘M’ in the Presbyterian Church lot (Table 2) at $20 m to build. Then I asked what the hourly meter rate to pay for the structure, and just break-even is. The results are posted on Lagunastreets.blogspot.com. The metered parking rate will cost a motorist over $10 per hour. There is emotional distress in that number.
Then I took a NextDoor poll to find what is the most residents want to pay for parking, and 88% of respondents said $5 per hour or less. Who pays the difference? Parking subsidies are paid for by everybody but the motorist. The cost disconnect is obvious, yet the subcommittee proposes building eleven parking structures like that one. Laguna Beach needs a mobility plan, not this parking master plan.
Les Miklosy, Laguna Beach
