Making Space for a Future

For the past decade, efforts to spruce up Ventura Boulevard have sputtered along--with most steps forward hobbled by at least one step back. But it appears that momentum is finally gathering for a strong resurgence of the San Fernando Valley’s main commercial drag. The latest encouraging sign: The Los Angeles City Council’s decision last month to spend $4 million to build a parking structure in the heart of Studio City.

Parking has long been a problem along the boulevard--particularly in older sections west of the San Diego Freeway, where storefronts got built before modern parking requirements took effect. The result: Customers and employees fight for the same scarce parking spaces, making it a frustrating experience even to dash in for a latte at the corner coffee shop. Although many times more expensive than simple surface lots, parking garages are about the only solution for commercial districts that abut residential streets. And in districts of small family-run businesses, paying for a parking garage is virtually impossible without help from the city.

With the right design and placement, the garages can reduce the number of cars parking along residential streets. The Studio City garage follows a similar project in Sherman Oaks. Construction costs will be paid off with parking meter revenues. Some residents fear the garages will encourage additional traffic, but that has not been the case in Sherman Oaks, where the garage simply provides more space for neighborhood shoppers.

Ample parking keeps customers happy and coming back. And that’s essential to the long-term survival of a shopping district because it makes merchants more willing to invest their own money in the future. That’s the idea behind business improvement districts forming along the boulevard. Business owners agree to tax themselves in order to provide amenities such as storefront remodeling, benches or fancy light poles to make the neighborhood more pleasant for shoppers to linger. Few are willing to take that risk if business stinks.

Big efforts like the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan lay out a map for the future of the strip but do little to help merchants and residents take the first steps. Public projects like the Studio City garage provide the encouragement and reassurance that private merchants need to take steps of their own.