Parking lot at Metro's Universal City Red Line Station. Most spaces remain free to the driver, but several hundred San Fernando Valley monthly permit spaces will see a rate increase this July. Photo: Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.
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.
As of July 2014, Metro will increase monthly parking permit rates for two popular San Fernando Valley Red Line Stations. Screenshot parkmetro.com this morning
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.
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.
Get in line behind the 246 other people who want to pay to park at Metro's NoHo Red Line Station. Screenshot from parkmetro.com this morning
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.
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