Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Parking Privatization

City Spends Half a Million to Explore Meter Privatization

By Damien Newton | Apr 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

Photo: Nahh/Flickr Thank goodness for KNBC or maybe the City Council’s decision to spend half a million dollars to study parking privatization may have passed without any news outlet covering the story. Did I miss something, is parking and parking rates not a major issue in Los Angeles anymore? Regardless, the Los Angeles City Council […]

What Can Los Angeles Expect for the Rights to Its Meters?

By Damien Newton | Apr 16, 2009 | 1 Comment

For the politicians looking to close a loophole in the city’s budget through privatizing street parking, the biggest question is going to be “how much money can the city get” for leasing enforcement and collection of paid street parking. Reporting from this week’s City Council hearing, Joe Linton writes, “The city is facing a $35M deficit in the current fiscal year. The deficit projected for next fiscal year was projected at $433M (out of a $7B budget), but that forecast is being revised to about $530M.” If Chicago got $1.16 billion for leasing control of its 36,000 meters, Los Angeles should be able to get at least that much for it’s 43,000 metered spaces, right?

Lessons from Chicago: What Could Happen to Parking in L.A.

By Damien Newton | Apr 15, 2009 | 6 Comments

Thus far, the discussion on how to, and whether to move forward with a plan to privatize the city’s metered street parking has focused on what impact a similar plan has had in Chicago. The final deal between the Windy City and Morgan Stanley netted Chicago $1.16 billion up front, for turning over parking revenue, […]

Villaraigosa Considering Privatizing Metered Street Parking

By Damien Newton | Apr 14, 2009 | 3 Comments

Picture via John and Keturah/Flickr Privatizing street parking. There are few transportation-related measures that will generate more controversy, more heated discussion and more strange bedfellows than a proposal that combines flashpoint issues from across the spectrum: Smart growth, privatization, parking, urban planning and budget issues all wrapped up in one neat package. And now, Los […]