Metro Raising Parking Rates for NoHo and Universal; Most Parking Still Free

As of July 1st 2014, Metro will raise monthly permit parking rates for two of its most popular and most sold-out parking lots. Metro's North Hollywood Red Line Station monthly parking permit will go from $39 to $59. Universal City Station monthly parking permits will go from $39 to $55.

SBLA has been critical of Metro's ineffective and fiscally-irresponsible parking policies. These increases are a worthwhile small step in the right direction. The increases help Metro make parking available to people who need it, while lessening parking cost burdens on the vast majority of Metro's riders whose trips do not begin with driving.

The majority of parking at these Metro stations remains free.

At least free to drivers.

Well, free to those drivers who show up by 6:30am or so. 

According to the Metro website, as of this morning, the NoHo station has 333 paid spaces and 619 free spaces: 65 percent free parking. Metro shows Universal City with 126 paid spaces and 773 free spaces: 86 percent free parking.

For the overall Metro rail and BRT system, 93 percent of parking spaces is free. Free meaning: paid for by every transit rider, not by the end user.

Though these two San Fernando Valley stations were already the most expensive in the system, the price was too low for ensuring availability. Metro patrons wanting to buy SFV Red Line station parking permits can not purchase them today, because they're completely sold out.

As of this morning, there are long wait lists: 246 in line for NoHo, and 103 in line for Universal.

Hopefully, with Metro's rate increase, these long lines will diminish, and people who actually want to pay for Metro Parking will be able to. The increased rate should also help Metro pay for station parking construction and maintenance, so those costs don't put further fiscal pressure to increase Metro bus and rail fares.

In other Metro parking news: Metro's pay for parking website Parkmetro.com is missing the their Expo Line La Cienega station. The station has a seven story parking structure, including two subterranean floors. According to signage posted on site, the two basement floors are restricted to paid monthly permit holders. Unfortunately, as of today, neither Metro nor Parkmetro.com websites list any permits for sale at the La Cienega Station.

Perhaps these two floors are transitioning from free to paid, and the website will be up to date soon. As of yesterday afternoon, when above-ground free parking was mostly full, Metro was operating very expensive to construct, but very very empty subterranean parking.