MTA Seeks More Space for Parking

To ease parking shortages at both of the Valley’s subway stations, transit officials said Monday they are still exploring several alternatives, including re-striping parking lots to squeeze in more cars.

The only available quick fix--about 40 parking spaces--is at a metered city lot near the North Hollywood station. That lot can be used by the public at $1 for 10 hours.

Several other parcels near the North Hollywood station, however, could provide hundreds of spaces, but are still being studied, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority official said.

Those lots include two MTA sites--one west of the station and now in use for construction, the other adjacent to the station--and a third parcel, also adjacent to the subway stop, owned by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

Combined, those lots could provide more than 400 spots, but availability, environmental concerns and paving costs all need to be studied, said Tom Conner, MTA executive officer for transit operations.

A quicker option, Conner said, would be to expand existing parking lots at both the North Hollywood and Universal City stations; that can be done by re-striping to fit in more compact cars. About 10% more cars could be accommodated using that option, and a decision will be made within two weeks, he said.

In the meantime, the MTA is adding bicycle facilities to both stations, Conner said. The North Hollywood stop, with 16 bicycle rack spaces, is especially popular with cyclists, he said. That stop will get 32 new bike rack spots, plus four lockers.

The Universal City stop will get seven more lockers--it currently has four--and racks to hold 16 bikes.

MTA officials said many frustrated motorists are also parking in its Kiss ‘N’ Ride spaces meant for loading and unloading passengers at the stations. Because of the limited parking, Conner said, the MTA is not citing motorists who park there.

However the MTA is increasing its enforcement of those who use the free parking lots and don’t ride the subway. Overnight parking is also prohibited, Conner said.

At the Universal City lot, about 40 more spots will open up in October when the contractor moves from an area slated for future parking.

Surveys over three days early this month have shown that parking lots at the Red Line’s Valley stations are 90% to 100% full from 8 a.m. to noon. The lots begin to empty out after 3 p.m., Conner said.

About 10% to 20% of motorists who park at Universal City are illegally using the Red Line lot to go to Universal Studios, CityWalk or the studio office buildings.

The metered lot, owned by the Department of Transportation, is accessible through an alleyway that parallels Lankershim Boulevard. The lot is to the east of Lankershim, between Chandler Boulevard South and Weddington Street. Quarters are required for those meters, said James Okazaki, assistant general manager for the transportation department.