Senate Democrats this week passed a measure by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, to encourage cities and counties to take away badly-needed free parking spaces across the state. If this measure passes, the state would offer local government incentives to erect parking meters or eliminate parking spaces altogether.
Senator Lowenthal even called free parking a "luxury" that has "significant social, economic and environmental costs," and argued, "it increases congestion and greenhouse gas emissions."
This kind of half-baked rhetoric could not be further from the truth. Working families know that free parking is not a luxury. It is a necessity that Californians rely upon when shopping at local businesses, dining at local restaurants, visiting their doctor and taking their kids to school and after-school lessons. Eliminating free parking will hit overtaxed Californians where it hurts the most - in their wallets.
Ask small businesses whether their customers would consider free parking outside of their establishment a "luxury," or whether they would shop elsewhere if they were forced to pay to park in a government-run garage. Installing meters or taking away badly-needed parking could devastate downtown business districts that offer free parking as a way to attract customers. Many of these businesses are having a tough time keeping their doors open and maintaining jobs in our region amidst the high costs and burdens of doing business in our state.
The argument that taking away free parking will reduce greenhouse gas emissions is also faulty. It purportedly assumes that people will take a bus or train to shop rather than driving their car. Ask working families that might bring kids along to do grocery shopping if taking public transportation is a viable option to avoid parking meters, and I think you'll hear a resounding "No."
We need to be doing everything we can to bring back jobs and lower the cost of doing business in our state, not making it harder for job-creating businesses to attract customers and workers. It's time for big government liberals to stop imposing their out-of-touch worldview on Californians who are just trying to get by. Decisions about parking are best made by local residents and local governments, not lawmakers in Sacramento.
"More than 2.2 million Californians are out of work today and jobs are continuing to leave for other states in droves. Taking away free parking will only make our jobs problem worse, making it harder for businesses to attract customers and hurting working families struggling to make ends meet. The Legislature's sole priority must be bringing back jobs, not dictating to cities whether they can offer free parking."
-- Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills
