Fear and parking in La Jolla

The years-long debate over parking in La Jolla may finally be coming to a head.

After taking questions and suggestions from the public at the Nov. 1 meeting of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, the La Jolla Community Parking District Advisory Board will consider the input it received for what will probably be the last time.

The board will meet Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. at Hotel Parisi, where they will consider changes to their proposed pilot parking management program before possibly taking action on the plan. The board could vote to make the plan their official recommendation to the City Council, in which case it would be analyzed by city traffic engineers before being passed along to the Council for a final decision. That process could take months.

The pilot program as currently drafted would implement a two-hour time limit and paid on-street parking on Village streets including Prospect Street, Fay Avenue, Girard Avenue, Herschel Avenue, Ivanhoe Avenue, Silverado Street, Kline Street, Jenner Street and Wall Street. The first 30 minutes would be free, with the next 90 minutes costing $1.50.

The pilot program as currently drafted would also implement a new two-hour time limit on residential streets near the Village, including Ivanhoe Avenue from Virginia Way to Torrey Pines Road, Exchange Place from Prospect Street to Virginia Way, all of Park Row, High Avenue form Virginia Way to Torrey Pines Road and Virginia Way form Prospect Place to Torrey Pines Road. The time limit would be enforced from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and residents could purchase up to two permits that would exempt them from the time limits for $14 each.

The beach areas along Coast Boulevard would be subject to new time limits and paid on-street parking. On weekdays, the time limit would be four hours at $1.50 per hour. Weekends and holidays would be subject to a nine-hour time limit at $1 per hour.

The presentation at the Community Planning Associaton was informational only, and the Planning Association’s board did not take any action on the proposal. If the parking board were to act on the proposed pilot program at its next meeting, the Planning Association would likely still have time to weigh in on the proposal before it came before the City Council for a final decision.

Both the La Jolla Shores Association and La Jolla Town Council have already passed motions opposing the board’s plan. Those groups each have their own representatives on the board, along with a representative from the Bird Rock Community Council, three representatives from Promote La Jolla, an appointee from City Council President Scott Peters, an at-large business representative and an at-large resident representative.

The board has, to this point, presented a mostly united front on the plan, which they created over a series of monthly meetings that began in January 2006. The proposed parking management plan was a contentious issue from the moment it was unveiled this summer, with most of the controversy surrounding the implementation of paid on-street parking in the Village.

To view the complete proposed pilot parking program, visit www.lajollabythesea.com/parking.