Parking meters extended after 6 p.m. in Manhattan Beach
The City Council last week moved to extend metered parking throughout the city from two to three hours maximum and to open up the civic center lot to merchant parking. Both tweaks to the city’s parking are intended to better serve downtown businesses.
The proposal came from the city traffic engineer Eric Zandvliet and will extend metered parking after 6 p.m.
“This will be seven days a week, and that would help provide a little more time for a person or people who are arriving and enjoying our downtown to do some business or go to dinner and not have to worry about the parking meter,” Zandvliet told council. “So after 6 p.m., the meters expire at 9 p.m., if you arrive any time from 6 p.m. or later, you wouldn’t have to go back to your car, you wouldn’t have to move the car as well.”
Zandvliet said the city issues 700 merchant annual parking permits and another 70 or 80 monthly permits for only 270 spaces, mainly at the Metlox Plaza and city lots 1 and 2. The lower level of the Civic Center parking structure will be made available for merchant parking overflow after 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, every other Friday, and weekends.
“Of course not everyone uses their permit everyday, so we try to keep it full and we over
subscribe,” Zandvliet said. “But there’s still an overflow demand for merchant parking, in the downtown. One place there’s an opportunity — we can use the lower level of the civic center parking structure whenever city hall employees are not there and whenever there’s lighter demand. Those happen to be city hall Friday days off, as well as all day Saturday and Sunday. Those are the higher demand days for merchant parking permit, so it kind of works out well.”
Mayor Amy Howorth said the changes made more efficient use of the city’s parking lots.
“Especially the days when we aren’t in City Hall, yet the spots are reserved for employees — it’s not utilizing our resources,” she said. “So I really appreciate that.”
Councilperson David Lesser said he supported the changes but wondered if there would be some negative impacts as well.
“I thought one of the fundamental purposes of parking meters is to encourage turnover,” he said. “The whole idea is to allow sufficient time for people to eat but I’m wondering, given how close we are to the beach, is that perhaps one of the potential challenges we might face here? There will be less turnover of spaces so people will be unable to come and be customers at
some of these places too.”
Zandvliet said he thought there would still be sufficient turnover. He also noted that overall, as more merchants parking in the Civic Center, more spaces would generally be available for restaurant patrons.
“Meters are not really for turnover,” said Councilperson Steve Napolitano. “Meters are to raise revenue to pay for the maintenance of the parking structures and the oversight of it, the salaries and everything that go along with it. [Parking] enforcement is for turnover — that’s why we chalk tires.”
Mike Zislis, the president of the downtown Business Improvement District, expressed support.
“Our number one issue in the downtown is parking,” he said. “And anything you can do to help us have more parking, better parking…. I know there are a lot of plans out there and I just hope you support the downtown businesses today.”
The parking changes were unanimously approved and will go into effect as soon as new stickers are affixed to the meters.