Oakland Eyes Parking Meters Around Lake Merritt; To Be Active 7 Days a Week
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- The City of Oakland is considering adding 381 metered parking spaces around a large portion of Lake Merritt which would generate more than $2 million a year for the city's coffers.
"It provides the opportunity to improve access to Oakland's crown jewel, Lake Merritt, which is in the heart of the city," said Ryan Russo, the Director of the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT). "The system we proposed is something that everyone would be pretty familiar with. There would be kiosks along the sidewalks along the curbs."
Russo says improved accessibility is the primary reason to move forward with the metered parking.
According to a city report, these are the areas where the meter zones would go into place:
• Bellevue Ave. from Perkins St. to Grand Ave.
• Lakeshore Ave. from Macarthur Blvd. to Lake Merritt Blvd.
• Lake Merritt Blvd. from E. 12th St. to Oak St.
• Lakeside Drive from 17th St. to Jackson St.
Meters would be active every day of the week, including Sundays. The price to park would vary based upon demand.
"The flex parking rates give us that flexibility based upon demand that we observe, to range from $0.50 an hour to $4 an hour," Russo said.
Some people who live in Oakland are not happy about the idea.
"I don't think they should," said Ray Morgan, who visits Lake Merritt for walks 2-3 times a week. "It's going to be terrible. I just hope people come out and raise hell about it so it won't happen."
Bill Eddings isn't on board, either.
"This isn't downtown. This is a park. You shouldn't have to pay to go to the park," he said.
KPIX 5 asked OakDOT's director what his response is to those who feel like they'd have to effectively, pay, to visit Lake Merritt.
"This will really improve their access to Lake Merritt, and otherwise, they'd be circling and paying for gas - circling around the neighborhood looking for spots, or potentially parking in an off-street lot or in a garage which would cost more," Russo said. "I will also note that, many of our low-income Oaklanders ride the bus to get to Lake Merritt. There's no free bus if you're going to Lake Merritt. You pay the bus whether you're going to school, work, going to the lake, or going to church. You still have to pay that bus fare."
However, other residents, like Andre Gouws, think it will benefit both the city and locals who have problems finding parking.
"I'm in favor of paid parking because if you have free parking, then it just fills up too fast," he said. "The same number of cars will still come here. Just instead, they'll be providing money to the city that the city didn't have before."
Each of the 381 metered spaces is expected to generate around $4,700 in meter payments and $1,200 in citation fines annually, totaling around $2,250,000 in gross revenue for the year, according to the city report.
The expenses to support the new meters, including maintenance, enforcement, and transaction fees, are estimated to be around $500,000, the report states.
"That revenue is really for the city council to determine in our budgeting process," Russo said. "I think the general intent is that there would be net revenue, and the city could support parks – which has been a struggle. Parks throughout the city could be supported with things that help our small businesses, our merchants, and help people gather and come together and be safe in our parks throughout the City of Oakland. But ultimately, the city council will determine as they pass budgets, what the funds are used for."
The Oakland City Council is scheduled to vote on this on April 19th.
