Parking Districts: Special Treatment

Your article concerning parking zones (Times, May 31) has raised my indignation quotient by a power of three. It again illustrates the special treatment for affluent groups which seems to be overtaking Los Angeles like a plague.

The article mentions the plight of wealthy beach residents who find it difficult to park on summer weekends. It is hard to feel sympathy for people who moved into their houses and apartments knowing of the parking problems in the area and who seek to cure them by forbidding free parking to non-residents. The city’s generosity in providing new parking lots for beach visitors at $3 per day will certainly increase the accessibility of the coast to the large low-income population just a few miles inland.

Another example is the parking zones established in Westwood. It seems that these wealthy people were willing to pay quite a bit of money to enjoy the amenities of nearby UCLA but were unwilling to put up with the inconvenience of having students in the area. Rather than building much needed parking and dormitory space, the authorities decided to ban the students.

It is a travesty when authorities bow to pressure from wealthy special-interest groups and couch it in the terms of Populism. (City Councilman) Zev Yaroslavsky should keep in mind that you can fool all of the people some of the time. . . .

CHARLES J. SCHWARTZ

Venice