Meters in the hood: It's about the money
MTA spokesman Paul Rose in this morning's Chronicle:
"Meters are meant to effectively manage parking, which will help ease congestion, ensure parking availability and speed transit," Rose said. He downplayed the money angle, but revenue from parking meter fees and fines help fund Muni---a top priority in the transit-first city.
When they say it's not about the money...Yes, "the money angle" is the real story behind City Hall's eagerness to push parking meters into the neighborhoods. (Those who write about city traffic policy should stop using the "transit first" terminology unless they put it in quotation marks, since the City Charter definition of transit first has been amended to include bicycles. For the MTA, "transit first" now means whatever they want it to mean.)
According to the latest Transportation Fact Sheet, the city raised $40,520,486 from its parking meters. But the bigger payoff for the city is with parking tickets, since they made more than twice as much on tickets---$86,306,584---for a total of $126,827,070. The total from parking meters, tickets, and city parking lots listed in the MTA's budget is a whopping $276 million, which is 35% of the income in MTA's $780 million budget.
Eastern Neighborhoods United Front represents Portrero Hill and Dogpatch against the city's plan to put parking meters in their neighborhoods.
Sign the petition against parking meters in the neighborhoods:
Labels: Anti-Car, City Government, Muni, Neighborhoods, Parking
posted by Rob Anderson @ 11:34 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Whine whine whine.
The money raised is peanuts compared to benefits from better parking management.
Can you provide some numbers to quantify those "benefits"? No, of course not. The city to the neighborhoods: "I'm from City Hall, and I'm here to help you." The neighborhoods are right to be skeptical of a bloated city government that's desperate for more money to cover its chronic deficits.
Rob, you are wasting your time on the 'true believers'. They alone have to one and true knowledge on all things...they know what is best for the rest of us. Forget that the other 99 percent are the ones getting hurt by having to feed the meter monster and those that feel we should be on bikes to conduct our city business. The MTA is the puppet of a very well connected SFBC. They will eventually piss of enough people that the pendulum will swing back...the district supervisors better wake up!! If they don't do something the voters will...and votes don't give jack to the SFBC.
This is a good time to dust off a proposal I made four years ago: my Leave the Neighborhoods Alone Plan. City Hall should stop afflicting us with all these meddlesome "improvements." All that is required is to do routine maintenance and keep the streets decently paved, and then leave us alone.
This Plan is simple and will cost nothing. In fact it will save money once all plans for improving the neighborhoods are abandoned.
Forget that the other 99 percent are the ones getting hurt by having to feed the meter monster
Car ownership rates are well under 99 percent in SF, and a large percentage of car owners never feed a meter, living, shopping, and working in non-metered areas.
Leave it to Rob to say that the city should have no meddlesome "improvements". For example, no NextBus. No Academy of Sciences overhaul. No AT&T Park for the Giants. No Warriors Arena. No Crissy Field. No Doyle Drive replacement - just do some routine maintainance. No new sewer system to replace corroded pipes. Let's have the PG&E pipes go to hell like San Bruno's did while we're at it.
And while we're at it, if Potrero Hill wants no improvements, I say we pull the rug out from financial support of Esprit Park.
I of course support NextBus, the Academy of Sciences, AT&T Park, Crissy Field, and the Doyle Drive rehab. None of those projects are really "neighborhood" projects. They're special venues, not part of residential neighborhoods.
According to the SF Transportation Fact Sheet, 78.40% of city households have a motor vehicle.
More meters, please--especially in East Soma, where parking is free under the Central Freeway. Expand zipcars and discourage car ownership; otherwise with projected population increase/tech employment, congestion will simply increase. More bike/pedestrian casualties, more accidents--it's inevitable. Walk, people! It ain't hard. We 60 to 70 year olders do it! Lobby MUNI for more service and get building owners/tech companies to contribute!
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