New Garage to Ease Parking Crunch in West Hollywood

Finding a parking spot in West Hollywood has long been a dreaded undertaking for many visitors, but officials are hoping that a new parking garage on Santa Monica Boulevard will help.

The city today opens a 170-space garage at Santa Monica Boulevard and Kings Road. About 7,400 square feet of ground-level retail space also is planned.

The $6-million building, near Hugo’s restaurant and Cafe La Boheme, is expected to relieve some pressure for drivers in a city where parking spaces are in high demand but in short supply. It is the first of several parking structures the city plans to build and operate over the next 20 years.

The city already has a parking lot along Santa Monica Boulevard.

The parking garage will be open from 6 a.m. until midnight. The cost is 75 cents an hour for the first two hours and 75 cents every half hour thereafter; the maximum charge is $7.50. The city will charge a flat $2.50 for parking after 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday.

Free parking will be available this weekend.

In the face of West Hollywood’s long-standing parking problems, officials say they are doing what they can to provide more parking. About 10 years ago, the city expanded the parking it requires for new commercial development projects.

And city officials have been trying to free up precious on-street metered parking spots for drivers who need to make quick stops. The city charges a quarter for 20 minutes of parking time in most places, said Helen Goss, West Hollywood’s public information and cable television manager.

“We’ve been criticized because we have higher meter rates than Los Angeles but part of doing that is to encourage turnover of parking meter spaces,” said Goss.

Meanwhile, the city has expanded its permit parking program, increasing the number of residential streets that are off-limits except to residents and their guests. More numerous evening restrictions protect residents from having to compete for on-street parking with patrons of nightclubs and restaurants.

Parking will probably become even more critical in West Hollywood as the city moves forward with a long-term plan to turn a stretch of Sunset Boulevard into a chic commercial strip. The Sunset Specific Plan calls for posh office complexes to house entertainment-related and other businesses.

The plan probably will attract more cars to West Hollywood, but the city is prepared to build parking garages near Sunset Boulevard to handle the crowds, said Joan English, director of the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department.