More Parking Is Needed

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is right to provide much-needed additional parking at the newly opened North Hollywood subway station, even if it means paving--temporarily--the lot next to an old train depot slated for a museum and park.

The old Pacific Electric Big Red streetcar station across from the new Red Line station is the San Fernando Valley’s oldest train depot. It now stands empty and run-down; restoring it is a worthy goal. Ideas bandied about include making it into a railway museum with a model railroad and a park. This would certainly present a more appealing greeting to passengers arriving at the new station than the current boarded-up building. And attracting riders to a revitalized North Hollywood has always been part of the subway’s promise.

So we can understand that depot supporters would worry that a temporary parking lot could become permanent and halt plans for a park and museum. They deserve the MTA’s assurances this will not happen.

But right now the MTA faces an immediate problem, and that is providing more parking to accommodate the higher-than-expected subway ridership. The lots at both the North Hollywood and Universal City subway stations already are 90% to completely full during peak hours. Commuters who day after day can’t find a parking space will eventually lose patience and abandon the effort--and the subway--altogether if relief isn’t provided soon.

The MTA eventually plans to build a multistory parking structure on the site of the 847-space lot in use now. Once the parking garage opens, commuters won’t need additional, temporary lots. The lot in question could then be turned into a park or whatever else is planned for the old depot--a commitment the MTA, which owns the depot, should stress.

In the interim, planning for what to do with the depot can continue, along with structural work to ensure that the one-story wooden building doesn’t collapse on itself. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency has obtained about $1 million, largely from an MTA grant, to rehabilitate it.

The MTA is adding bike racks, re-striping the lot to accommodate more cars and stepping up enforcement against scofflaws who use the lot for free parking but don’t use the subway. Eventually a high-speed busway or light rail could bring more commuters to the station. But for now, only an additional lot will provide enough relief to help ensure that the subway retains its surprisingly high ridership numbers.