City Orders More Subway Parking

The Los Angeles City Council ordered transit officials Wednesday to provide 250 parking spaces at the new Universal City subway station when it opens this summer, or risk losing city funds.

The ultimatum comes after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority infuriated subway neighbors by avoiding a commitment to providing enough parking to discourage subway commuters from leaving their cars on residential streets.

Although MTA officials said they believe they can provide the parking, some neighbors of the station said 250 spaces is not enough.

“They are going to have a serious shortage of parking, which is going to lead to gridlock,” predicted Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn. He and others have called on the transit agency to consider delaying the planned subway opening.

Officials said the parking problem was caused by delays in awarding construction contracts and the need of a contractor to use half of the parking lot as a staging area for building a bridge over the Ventura Freeway. Delays have put the project six months behind schedule.

Eventually, the subway station is proposed to have 437 spaces.

“The potential lack of parking at the Universal City station will discourage the use of the Red Line and undermine the very purpose of the significant contribution of public dollars to its construction,” City Councilman Hal Bernson said.

The council approved Bernson’s proposal to condition its allocation of $34 million in transit tax money to the subway project on the MTA providing at least 250 parking spaces when the Universal City station opens in June.

Marc Littman, an MTA spokesman, said the MTA has the option of moving back the date of the Universal City station, or forcing the contractor to take up less of the proposed parking lot.

Littman said no firm date has been set for the station openings, and the MTA management will probably evaluate the progress of construction and testing in April before setting a firm date.

The MTA has until December to open the station and comply with agreements signed for federal funding of the project, Littman said.

The San Fernando Valley’s two Red Line stations could be the last subway terminals built for many years.