There IS Enough Parking on San Vicente, But It’s Not Readily Available: Parking Study

Mott Smith of Civic Enterprise Associates, a company that conducts traffic and parking studies, recently gave a preliminary overview of findings from a recent parking study conducted in Brentwood. The survey was conducted at the request of City Councilman Bill Rosendahl and the Brentwood Community Council.
Generally speaking, according to Smith, from mid-day to early evening, paid parking meter spots are largely taken on San Vicente. The actual occupancy can reach 90% percent. The same is true on weekends.
85 percent is the point at which drivers in search of a parking place “start to go crazy,†according to Mott.
Several office and medical buildings in the area, however, experience much lower rates of occupancy, but drivers either don’t know about these parking spots or are unwilling to pay the $10 or even $20 per day required. Meters on San Vicente now charge $2 an hour.
There are 4100 total parking spaces along San Vicente between Bundy and Bringham, but there are only about 250 spots available to the public (metered spots on San Vicente and some non-metered spots hugging the VA property).
The study indicated that many drivers who can’t find metered spots seek out parking spots in surrounding neighborhoods – no surprise to those who live close to San Vicente. Many of these cars are owned by employees who work in local restaurants, banks, retail businesses, hair salons and other San Vicente Blvd. establishments.
If employees could have access to private parking lots and pay $5 a day, according to Smith, they’d be much more likely to use these spots. This would alleviate much pressure on residential neighborhoods.
The BCC formed a committee that will make outreach efforts to owners of local parking lots to see if more spaces can be made available to the public, and at a lower rate than what exists now.
One preliminary recommendation is to allow parkers to use their metered spaces for two hours, not just one. One hour is not enough time for a typical lunch, followed by a stroll. Local merchants would naturally prefer more pedestrian traffic.
A more detailed report on the local parking situation will appear in next month’s Brentwood News.