Guiding Principles OK'd for Pier Parking

For years, complaints about the 's parking structure and payment system have plagued the city, and on Tuesday, the City Council approved a set of guiding principles for solving the pier's parking issues.

According to Pete Carmichael, the city's harbor and transit director, customer service is a key priority. The principles also call for optimizing traffic flow and payment systems so people can enter and exit the structure more easily, ensuring the structure is financially sustainable, helping businesses on the pier and making sure the principles are consistent with the city's long-term plan for the pier.

The principles will "serve as a road map for recommendations for operational improvement" in September, Carmichael said.

Several councilmen spoke of the issues they've had with parking at the pier.

"It just seems that you come out of a restaurant, and you're waiting around, and people are honking their horns" in the garage, said Councilman Steve Aspel. He later added that it was "unfortunate" the city had to "dumb down" the process, but that the only way to revitalize the pier would have to involve fixing the parking situation.

"Part of the issue with the flow is the way the structure itself is arranged," said Mayor Mike Gin. "It's not intuitive."

The current system has been in place for about 5 1/2 years, according to City Manager Bill Workman. "The corrosion factor [from the sea air] has a major impact on electronics … The systems are wearing out very quickly."

If the same system were in place on Wilshire Boulevard, he added, it would last a lot longer.

In addition to replacing or repairing the payment system—and possibly adding a live parking attendant at certain times of day—city staff will address issues with the structure itself.

The Council voted 4-0 (Councilman Matthew Kilroy was absent) to approve the guiding principles.