The important question is, is $0 the lowest price you can charge that will lead to a few vacant spaces at that time of day? If so, it’s the right price, according to Donald Shoup.

But Don would also suggest the local government abandon minimal parking requirements, so in the long run the charge would be unlikely to remain zero

I suspect that even if municipal minimum parking requirements were eliminated, that the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium would still provide a many more parking spaces than are generally needed for public meetings.  It is a fairly large event space after all.

It would be great if they subsidized transit to these meetings, but obviously the logistics of doing so are much more complex than giving away parking.  Fostering civic engagement is a good thing, even when some attendees drive cars.

Transit fares are already subsidized.  But so is gas and parking.

Subsidized transit can easily be done.

In Fresno, when public meetings are called, the ad for the meeting that runs in the paper is good for one free bus ride to and from the meeting.

Was there also a Valet?  Because I hate having to walk out to a cold Rolls on those foggy Westside nights.