Fairfax : Work on Parking Lot Begins

Work began Monday on construction of a 57-space public parking lot at the southwestern corner of the Fairfax High School campus.

The lot, a joint project of the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District, is part of a plan to upgrade the business district by redoing storefronts and lining the street with palm trees.

The lot will have parking meters and will serve as a stop for the Fairfax Trolley, a city-sponsored bus service.

Under provisions of the city’s 10-year lease, the school district will share in half the revenues from the parking meters.

There will be 40 metered spaces and two free spaces for the handicapped in the first phase of the project, which is expected to be completed by February. The estimated revenue would be $2,400 a month if the lot is filled to capacity at all times, which is not likely, said Robert E. Camou, head of the city’s off-street parking division.

“The district gets the money; the school gets nothing,” said Warren Steinberg, principal of Fairfax High. “All the school gets is the benefits from a healthy business community here, because a healthy business community helps keep people living in the area. And that’s to our advantage because people who live in the area have kids, and they come to our school.”

A second phase bringing the total number of spaces to 57 will be begun upon completion of a storm drain across the school’s athletic field next summer.