City’s park-and-shuttle proves lucrative, but not at El Morro

Laguna Beach is beginning to see the fruits from its efforts to increase peripheral parking, according to a staff report to the City Council Tuesday.

Parking revenue from July 1 through Sept. 1 increased $325,000 compared to the same period last year. But while the trolleys were busy shuffling the visitors into town, some northern parts of the city didn’t see as much action as hoped.

The boost in revenue exceeded city staff’s expectation of $250,000 and included a 21% increase in funds received from parking lot fees and a 14% jump in money from on-street meters.

Earlier this year the council approved rate increases for downtown metered spaces from $1.50 to $2 per hour on summer weekdays. The cost increased to $3 after 5 p.m. — the same price as weekends and holidays.

The city also charged a $5 all-day fee for parking in lots traditionally free to motorists, such as Mission Hospital in South Laguna and the Laguna College of Art + Design. The fees didn’t deter motorists who regularly used the lots, staff reported.

Parking has increased in the outskirts of town as the city continues to encourage drivers to avoid parking downtown and instead use public transportation.

Not all peripheral lots saw the same level of activity as LCAD and Mission Hospital.

City leaders thought they could encourage residents in Irvine Cove and Emerald Bay a way into town without their cars by extending trolley service to El Morro Elementary School. But while El Morro’s lot was used as a trolley turnaround area and a place for people to park, it never reached capacity of 65 spaces, Deputy Director of Community Services Tom Toman said.

The number of passengers boarding trolleys there was “minimal” compared to the rest of the coastal route, according to a city staff report.

“El Morro may not be worth continuing,” Deputy City Manager Ben Siegel told the council. “There was not demand in that area.

“You could make the argument that a new service takes time for residents in those areas to become accustomed to a service being provided at their communities,” he said. “What we heard anecdotally is that residents in those communities don’t have anywhere to park near Coast Highway, near the pickup spots anyway, so they are driving into town.”

He added that the traffic from the El Morro area into Laguna is not as heavy as it is around Mission Hospital.

In contrast, the city will consider increasing service in areas such as Laguna Canyon and Main Beach south through the HIP District, which saw full vehicles and longer wait times, Toman said.

“They weren’t asking for [trolley service] in [Irvine Cove and Emerald Bay] whereas Three Arch Bay [in South Laguna] was almost demanding they get the same kind of service everyone else got in town,” Councilman Kelly Boyd said. “If it’s necessary to move those trolleys back in to make up for the overflow on the south route that is what we need to do.”

Staff will return to the council in early 2016 with recommendations for next summer’s parking plan.

Also, in an effort to help pay for the service, the council asked staff to research options for advertisements inside trolleys.

To read the full staff report, visit the city’s website at lagunabeachcity.net.