LOCAL NEWS ­— As she finally emerges from winter’s
temporarily imposed hibernation, and as San Diego begins to live up to its
stellar weather reputation, UCSD senior Anna Kim heads back to the beach.
Contrary to popular belief, the typical UCSD student surfs more than just the
Internet. Living on campus, the 15-minute walk is a piece of cake, but driving
to La Jolla Shores
is a whole different story. There’s the 10-minute drive and then the time spent
perusing the perpetually packed parking lot and surrounding neighborhood.
Furthermore, Kim’s part-time hostess job at Jack’s La Jolla
in downtown is just as problematic on the parking front.

The proposal for metered parking in downtown La Jolla and La
Jolla Shores, which would make La Jolla the first coastal community in San
Diego County to require fees for parking, has been a hot topic since November
of last year. For students like Kim, who already experience parking problems on
campus, in downtown La Jolla and at La
Jolla Shores, the
addition of meters to this already unsolvable equation is laughable.

The La Jolla Community Parking District Advisory Board
initiated a preliminary proposal last September. This volunteer board was
created in 2005 by the business improvement district of La Jolla, which claimed
that increased business revenue in La Jolla could be
realized by addressing escalating parking problems. Problems included
insufficient customer parking, a loose time-limit system abused by employees
outsmarting the grade school-level chalk system and no fiscal support from the
San Diego City Council. Actually, if the board’s policy is implemented, San
Diego would be falling in line with the precedent set
forth by most Southern California coastal cities.

Have no fear, San Diego
— the prodigal beach bum city is here. Several San Diegans raided the La Jolla
Community Parking District Advisory Board in protest during the November
meeting when they had predicted they’d submit a proposal to SDCC. A fire
marshal had to prematurely end negotiations when a crowd of hundreds sardined
the 90-person maximum occupancy room. Since then, the idea of metered beach
parking was abandoned because of the negative backlash from community members
during negotiations in December and January.

While we’ve fortunately dodged the $3 dent in our wallet for
an afternoon at the shores, the board has focused on implementing a one-year
trial of metered parking in the central retail district around Prospect
Street. This district, called “the Village,” includes
a majority of downtown La Jolla, a hotspot for college
employees in the fine dining and retail industries. The plan would offer no
alternative parking to the village’s workers, leaving behind thousands of
people like Kim, who already leaves from La Jolla 30
minutes before her work shifts to avoid traffic and ensure parking.

Think this measure will relieve the area of its already
jam-packed streets come weekday afternoons? Think again. Most people who
journey to Prospect Street
in hopes of an overpriced meal and utter bourgeoisie boredom know the slow
crawl down Torrey Pines Road isn’t the most enjoyable trip. Once you arrive,
may speed be with you in a no holds barred competition for scattered open
spots. The additional inconvenience of getting to a parking kiosk and paying
via cash or credit seems nonsensical. Installation of each kiosk would cost
about $7,000, and there’s the preposterous idea of keeping non-aesthetically
pleasing meters when there could be Visa-compatible kiosks in the future.

So why do they feel that this proposal is essential to the
well being of La Jolla, and who are they? Enter the
fiscally minded proponent for Promote La Jolla, the business improvement
district that created the La Jolla Community Parking District advisory board in
2005. One questions the incentive for these crisp-business-suit donning paid-parking
supporters, aspiring to open a parking lot in the future. The singular purpose
of improving “parking conditions” and helping businesses has been criticized
heavily as being inaccurate in regards to the community’s needs. Slanting this
one-year trial as an unbiased community improvement effort has been
unsuccessful, especially when affluent business owners are spearheading the
cause.

The board’s platform has been rigorously questioned as the
conception of these paid parking kiosks becomes a more viable reality. In a
letter addressed to the La Jolla Light editor on Feb. 29, the owner of a small
retail store in “the Village” protested the board’s accusations that small
businesses oppose community advancement. Claims have been made against these smaller
businesses for allowing their employees to crowd out the time-limit spots,
decreasing the space available for customers. On that basis, the larger
business owners accuse them of blatant acts against community standards, and
that kiosk-ed parking would deter these crimes against the business community.
The owner highlights the fact that parking permits for some of her employees
are issued by Promote La Jolla, and the rest find far off residential parking,
a practice in place since the store’s opening. Apparently, these “dirty”
tactics falsify the situation, presenting no credible evidence to support their
statements. This reliance on sweeping allegations by the board’s members produces questions over the actual incentives
of these owners.

In fact, current allegations by attorneys Karl ZoBell and
Steve Haskins have brought the board’s legitimacy into question. It’s the David
and Goliath of the La Jolla parking industry, with the
underdog — small businesses — pitted against the larger corporations who have possible
vested interests. The initial chairman of the board, Peter Wagener, even
stepped down in December because of the controversy surrounding the project
conflict of interest allegations. Suspicions of conflicts of interest,
initially prompted by letters written by Haskins, have been brought up at SDCC
last week. If results prove the advisory board’s illegitimate membership, then
the entire idea of parking kiosks could be discredited. The advocates against
metered parking have organized through the Web site, www.nopaidparking.org, and
are continuously rallying in protest during these proceedings.

One small victory for the people, due to the idiocy of LJCPD
board in keeping incentives discrete, is not something to rejoice. As of late,
counterparts in Pacific Beach
took a liking to La Jolla’s approach and proposed a
similar plan, from the outside San Diego
business firm Walker. The business improvement associations (Discover PB being
one of many) in Pacific Beach are jumping on the revenue-building bandwagon,
and hoping the disputes of the La Jolla parking advisory board will aid them in
achieving their own corporate wants. Though this group said the funds will
funnel into the cities’ maintenance directly (45 percent at that), the everyday
beachgoer remains unappeased. All skeptics perceive a reality where the
government cannot be trusted, and the capitalist society will benefit its major
capitalist players the most.

Sure, fun doesn’t cost a dime, but implementing new parking
meters for San Diego’s most enviable asset will set the market price for fun at
$3 an hour. In an increasingly costly world, enjoying a wallet-friendly day at
the beach is a luxury that may become less and less realistic.