DOWNTOWN PARKING
The City Council on Tuesday adopted sweeping changes to the public parking system downtown, including increased hourly rates and enforcement times.
Crews will install 37 new multispace parking meter stations along North Brand Boulevard to better enforce the two-hour time limits there as early as mid-November. All hourly on-street parking meters will increase from 60 cents to $1 per hour.
The meter stations will accept cash or credit cards, and communicate remotely with mobile computers that help parking enforcers pinpoint delinquent parking stalls.
Meter stations will also be installed at the city’s 10 surface lots, with hourly rates increasing to a uniform 75 cents. At the same time, city-owned parking garages will offer free parking for all visitors for the first 90 minutes, regardless of whether they receive merchant validation.
Employees who work downtown will also be eligible for reduced monthly parking passes for the city garages, down to $30 from $45.
Public Works officials will also roll out new signage warning parkers of the changes. First-time violators of the new rules will receive a warning up until Jan. 12.
WHAT IT MEANS
The new parking plan, which is endorsed by the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn., is meant to place a higher premium on the Brand Boulevard stalls as means to increase turnover. At the same time, the 90-minute grace period is expected to draw more drivers into the city garages.
Councilman Ara Najarian was absent.
WATER ASSETS
A proposed three-year, $498,000 contract with a private firm to assist Glendale Water & Power in better managing its water assets was pulled from consideration Tuesday.
City officials did not offer a reason for the delay, and did not say when the contract would be brought back for City Council consideration. The move came before Councilmen Bob Yousefian and Frank Quintero heavily scrutinized two other consulting contracts.
The contract with the firm, GEMS/Carno, would provide a team of expert consultants to help Glendale Water & Power implement the broad ranging list of suggestions identified in the 2007 report.
The report was commissioned to identify ways that the utility’s water division could better manage its assets to lower maintenance costs, extend the life cycle of its infrastructure and maintain service levels.
WHAT IT MEANS
