Car-Pool or Pay More to Park, City Council Says

One of the perks of being an elected official in Los Angeles is a free space in the dingy underground parking lot in City Hall.

But if Mayor Tom Bradley agrees with a unanimous City Council action Tuesday, that will change later this year.

Starting in July, the 15 council members, Bradley, the city attorney and the city controller will have to pay $25 a month for their parking spaces. But if an official car-pools--as Bradley technically does with his bodyguard--that free parking space will still be available.

About 4,500 other city employees, in the interest of reducing smog and traffic congestion, also have agreed to car-pool or pay increased parking fees as part of the council-approved action.

Depending on where a city employee usually parks, current $5-a-month fees will double, triple or even quintuple to $25 at city-owned or leased lots in the downtown area. The added revenue, an estimated $1 million a year, will be used to subsidize bus passes and other ride sharing measures.

The new parking rates, however, still will be considerably lower than those charged at most privately run commercial lots, officials said.

And as an added incentive for car-poolers, the city has agreed to give them free parking with close-in access to exits and elevators.

Councilwoman Joy Picus, who pushed for the car-pool plan, said it will bring the city in line with measures imposed on downtown businesses. Employers with at least 200 employees must develop ride-sharing plans by June, 1989, in order to ease traffic congestion.

Employee union officials said they have endorsed the plan because employees want to help alleviate downtown traffic congestion. They also said the plan gives some lower-paid employees who lack seniority and are now paying as much as $150 a month to park in commercial lots a chance to find a free car-pooling space in a city lot.