Long Beach : Parking Meter Rates to Go Up
The City Council has increased parking meter rates on downtown Long Beach streets to 5 cents for 12 minutes, 10 cents for 24 minutes and 25 cents for one hour.
The more than 100% increase, similar to one enacted last year in Belmont Shore, was approved at the request of the Downtown Long Beach Associates business organization. Old rates were a penny, five cents and a dime for the three time increments, respectively.
The business group argued that cheap on-street parking has encouraged employees at downtown businesses to feed meters all day, which has reduced the number of spaces available to customers.
City planners said it would cost about $14,000 to retrofit parking meters but that with the higher rates meters would yield from $167,000 to $250,000 more each year.
It will take about three months to order new parts and install new meter heads, city staffers said.
The affected area stretches east from the Civic Center to Atlantic Avenue and north from Ocean Boulevard to 8th Street.
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