Present for Shoppers: 2 Hours’ Free Parking
City officials are giving a present to downtown shoppers this week: two hours of free parking at every metered spot.
The city and the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce have sponsored free parking during the week before Christmas for the past three or four years, said Bonnie Rohrer, the president of the chamber. Like every gift, it has a price: an estimated $25,000 in unearned parking meter revenue. But it is the city’s way of thanking shoppers for patronizing downtown stores instead of traveling to a mall, officials said.
Downtown merchants were hit hard by the first El Nino-related storm Dec. 6. Many had flood water or mud in their stores, forcing some to close for a few days. But merchants have reported strong sales after the storm.
Leah Leary, the owner of Laguna Gander, a gift shop on Forest Avenue, said business picked up about four days after the storm hit, and holiday sales are now close to last year’s mark.
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