March 29, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Letter To The Editor: Santa Monica’s Greedy Parking Meter Attitude Unwelcome:

Dear Editor,

Recently when jogging by Santa Monica College I noticed holes being drilled into the center of every metered parking space and a strange object being inserted.

When I got home it dawned on me what I saw. I remembered reading that the city of Santa Monica was going to put sensors beneath each metered parking space so that when a car departed the meter would reset to zero.

I have always been of the opinion that good begets good and one way that this good is payed forward is by leaving a parking meter with time left on it for the next person.

We all delight when we get to a meter that has some time left, we feel we’ve hit the jackpot when only having to insert 25 more cents rather than 50 cents for the half hour of time needed to shop at the farmer’s market or pick up the dry cleaning.

The city has chosen to do away with the idea of good karma and the ability to share small bits of time with one another.

The notion that the city will now take whats left on a meter and put it in its pocket means that people will be paying twice or even three times for the same spot and the same amount of time.

If a car leaves with time left, the sensor will know and reset the meter to zero.

No more lucky breaks, no more paying it forward and being generous to your neighbors.

It’s a disgrace. I am not sure how much the city will earn by double dipping but whatever the amount it can’t equal the good feelings of generosity when you add money to a meter before you leave because it had time on it when you arrived.

I am sure its too late to change the city’s greedy attitude but its worth noting that this change is not welcome by all.

Sincerely,

Jody Zellen & Brian C. Moss

Santa Monica

in Opinion
Related Posts

ARB Courage (Part 1 of 2)

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

On March 4, 2024, your ARB (Architectural Review Board) ruled in favor of the 521-unit Gelson’s Project at Ocean Park...

SM.a.r.t Column: Can California ARBs Balance Affordable Housing with Community Character in the Face of New Housing Laws?

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

By suggestion, I attended the March 4th ARB (Architectural Review Board) meeting that addressed the Gelson Lincoln Boulevard Project.  After...

S.M.a.r.t Column: On the Need for Safety

March 10, 2024

March 10, 2024

Earlier this week, in the dark pre-dawn hours, a pair of thugs covered in masks and hoodies burst into the...

Film Review: The Oscar Landscape 2024

March 7, 2024

March 7, 2024

FILM REVIEWTHE OSCAR LANDSCAPE 2024A Look at the Choices – Academy Awards – March 10, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. on...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Five Saving Historic Santa Monica

March 3, 2024

March 3, 2024

Our beloved City is surrounded by many threats, from sea level rise to homelessness, to housing affordability, to cancerous overdevelopment,...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Gelson’s Looms Large

February 22, 2024

February 22, 2024

Our guest column this week is by SMCLC (the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City). SMCLC is a well-established...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Top Toady Town

February 18, 2024

February 18, 2024

Throughout history, from the ancient Romans and Assyrians to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, siege warfare has served as an...

S.M.a.r.t Column: The Sunset of Home Ownership

February 11, 2024

February 11, 2024

We are watching the sunset of our historical and cultural American dream of home ownership as we now are crossing...

SMa.r.t. Column: B(U)Y RIGHT

February 4, 2024

February 4, 2024

“By Right” state housing laws that give developers, in certain projects, the ability to ignore codes ‘by right.’ Well, that...

S.M.a.r.t  Column: Serf City

January 28, 2024

January 28, 2024

Homelessness is a problem in California, and nowhere is this more evident than in our fair city, where the unhoused...

S.M.a.r.t  Column: Bond Fatigue

January 22, 2024

January 22, 2024

Last week’s SMart article,  described two critical problems faced by our Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD): the declining...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Peace on Earth

December 27, 2023

December 27, 2023

We are all, by now, saturated with jingles, holiday cards, “ho ho ho’s,” countless commercial advertisements, and exhortations to feel...

S.M.a.r.t Column: On the Clock with Mayor Brock

December 17, 2023

December 17, 2023

I became Santa Monica’s Mayor on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, following a simple “switch of the chairs” transition with outgoing...

S.M.a.r.t Column: SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL 2024

December 10, 2023

December 10, 2023

Position:Seeking Santa Monica City Council Candidate(s) Introduction:Exciting opportunity for the right candidate(s) to work with like-minded Council members committed to...

S.M.a.r.t Column: ARB (NOT Ready to Build!)

December 3, 2023

December 3, 2023

Santa Monica City’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), established in 1974, acts “…to preserve existing areas of natural beauty, cultural importance...