Business’s gripe: Parking meters drive away customers

By Joe Schoenmann

Sunday, March 20, 2011 | 2 a.m.

Many downtown Las Vegas businesses see parking meters as the scourge of the city.

They wonder why the city would erect parking meters and ticket violators when most of the people getting the tickets are customers of downtown businesses. And this in a city where you can park at any casino, and almost anywhere else, for free?

It isn’t too strong to say the meters are despised, especially by the smattering of taverns in Fremont East, where the city has improved streets, sidewalks and neon signs to boost business opportunities.

It’s the kind of issue that could help or hurt mayoral candidates, two of whom happen to be Clark County commissioners, Larry Brown and Chris Giunchigliani.

Do the meters bring in lots of money for the city? Maybe that cash cow is just too beefy to let go.

The Sun requested parking meter revenue and expenses. For fiscal 2010 (ending June 30), the city collected parking meter fees of $1.78 million and parking fines and penalties of $4.24 million, for a total of about $6 million.

Another $870,000 came in from interest income, miscellaneous fees and parking lot fees and rentals.

Total revenue: about $6.87 million.

What were expenses related to parking?

The city owns three parking garages on Stewart Avenue, Main Street and beneath Neonopolis. It pays $3.68 million annually to service the debt for those garages. Then there are salaries and benefits for staff, maintenance and equipment costs and utility fees, all of which cost $4.46 million a year. The city employs 19 parking enforcement staff and four people who work in financial services/parking collections. Total costs: about $8 million.

So the city loses money on parking?

It appears so.

And how do the candidates feel about them?

Giunchigliani said of parking meters: “Get rid of them.”

What does Brown say?

First, as a former Las Vegas councilman, he said he remembers some downtown businesses requested parking meters to keep people from parking in front of their businesses all day.

Many were in the blocks full of law offices north of Charleston Boulevard and east of Las Vegas Boulevard, he said.

Those businesses are blocks, however, from Fremont East outlets, which almost unanimously hate the meters because of the stories of parking tickets received by their customers. So rather than lumping all downtown businesses together, Brown wants to see who wants them and who doesn’t, then make decisions. At a minimum, he wants the meters in Fremont East to be turned off at 5 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.

What about parking garages?

Brown wants the city to provide “free days” more often, especially on City Council meeting days, when people are forced to use the city’s garages.

How do other candidates feel about the meters?

George Harris, owner of Mundo restaurant in the World Market Center, despises the meters. He tells the story of a friend who had his vehicle “booted” by city parking enforcement while in the private lot of a downtown restaurant. His plan for parking meters is to get rid of them, with some style. He’ll hacksaw at least a few of the meters himself, then hold a contest and let the highest bidder do their worst on the meters. As for the garages, he says it’s simple: Sell them.

The numbers showing that parking enforcement is a money loser, he added, only bolster his argument that the city should get out of the parking enforcement business.

Those meters have been in place during the reign of Oscar Goodman. So what does Oscar’s wife, candidate Carolyn Goodman, think about them?

A spokesman for her said she wants to meet with business leaders and build a consensus on what to do about meters.

As for the parking garages, she will also look for input from the private sector to enable “easier and more convenient” parking downtown.