Chamber: Almost no one wants to pay for parking

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The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce this week released the results of a survey on the issue of parking meters in the city, saying it had found overwhelming opposition to a plan that was introduced by the City Council earlier in the year.

According to the chamber, 93.6 percent of survey respondents opposed the plan to install parking meters, primarily in the city’s central business district. Additionally, 95.8 percent said they would not be willing to pay for an annual permit to park in designated spots in the business district.

The chamber reported that 1,684 people had responded to the online survey, which was posted in early February, and 85.2 percent were Long Beach residents.

In a statement on Wednesday, city spokesman John McNally said, “It’s a bit premature to be putting out a poll on a program that’s very much still in the development phase.

“Nonetheless, I don’t think anyone thought it would be popular to charge for something currently free,” McNally added, “but we need better parking behavior to help our downtown businesses, and the City needs to diversify its revenue streams so our financial recovery isn’t done on the backs of our residents through property tax increases. If done well, we think this program can achieve both those ends.”

Chamber Co-chair Leah Tozer said she wasn’t surprised by the results. There is concern among residents and business owners, she said, because not all of the information about the plan is available, which influenced people’s responses.

The survey consisted of more than two dozen questions seeking to learn how difficult respondents found parking in the city, whether they would be willing to pay for spots, whether they were aware of the plan and whether they supported it.

According to the chamber, nearly 95 percent of those who responded said they believed that metered parking would actually reduce business activity, and nearly 90 percent said they would shop elsewhere if they had to pay for parking.

There are approximately 175 storefront businesses and 83 merchants who own businesses that do not have storefront locations, in Long Beach, according to Tozer, who said that a lot of business owners didn’t fully understand the meter plan. She also said that the meters would not impact businesses outside the central business district, which makes the plan unfair.

“[The Chamber] isn’t against a parking plan, but it has to be equitable,” Tozer said. “I don’t think people would have an issue if it was.”

She pointed out that the plan seems to allot about 60 percent of existing parking spots for people to pay and park all day. She noted that the plan “is a work in progress, but every type of business has to be looked at and heard.”

Rich Rothberg, who grew up in Long Beach, remembers meters on Park Avenue, in the center of town, in the 1960s and early ’70s. He is in favor of them. “I think they’re a very good thing,” Rothberg said, “and will keep traffic moving by not having people sit in spots all day.”

James Lynch, a co-chair of the chamber, said he has no issue with meters, but added that he wasn’t sure that they are the best idea right now, just as the coronavirus pandemic appears to be winding down — when, Lynch said, “businesses are already fragile.”

“They are needed,” he said of the meters. “But we have to make sure that this is fair and equitable for all residents and businesses.”

There are four proposed yearly permit types for the meters. The first, “E,” would cost $200 per year and allow employees of a business located within a specific pay zone to park in any E-designated spot for up to 14 hours per day. An “R4” permit, which would cost $250 per year, would allow residents to park in any central lot on Park Avenue or side street parking spot for up to four hours per day.

A “C” permit, costing $250 per year for residents and $300 for non-residents, would allow parking either in the Long Island Rail Road garage or the lot behind it for up to a week. An “R” permit, which would cost $50 per year, would allow residents to use the municipal parking lot on the corner of Long Beach Road and Walnut Street.

The meters would reportedly be in effect from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. The cost of each permit may change in the future.

There have been two City Council work sessions on the matter, with more likely to be scheduled soon. The chamber also had a meeting with the city on Wednesday to discuss the plan.