State lawmakers are taking aim at what some of them see as a menace to California’s environment: free parking.No, actually it is free. It's not that complicated.
There is too much of it, the legislators say, and it encourages people to drive instead of taking the bus, walking or riding a bike.
All that motoring is contributing to traffic jams and pollution, according to state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), and on Thursday he won Senate approval of a proposal he hopes will prompt cities and businesses to reduce the availability of free parking.
"Free parking has significant social, economic and environmental costs," Lowenthal said. "It increases congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.’’
Republicans opposed the measure, saying the Legislature should not be meddling in how much people pay to park.
"If local governments want to entice people to shop or do business in a particular area, that is entirely their business. Not the state’s," said Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach).
The bill, supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club, provides financial incentives for cities and counties to stop providing free parking on the street and at government offices and to reduce the amount they require businesses to provide.
"It’s nice that we’ve been treated to this luxury," Lowenthal said. "The problem with free parking is it’s not free.’’
Democrats think they can force people into buses, onto bikes, or other public transportation with silly laws like this. Chances are they'll only force themselves into taking a bus back home after they're voted out.
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This tells you a lot about the membership of the Sierra Club and the NRDC -- they are not young women with children, they are not elderly, they are not handicapped. I really doubt that women with toddlers or infants, or 87 year old ladies like my mom, or my handicapped friend confined to a wheelchair and her husband will be switching to bikes anytime soon.
These people are like Michelle Obama who views the entire world through her own narrow prism -- didn't even know we had a military until B started getting ambitious.
Maybe they should get out and look at the larger, grander and more varied spectrum of people who live in this country. America is a lot bigger than the members of their little club.
The members of the Sierra Club must contain some of the most stupid people on the earth. They want to restrict everything that other people enjoy, but they continue to enjoy their own precious way of life. I guess one could say they are a thorn in the flesh, which leaves one with the thought that this is something they would like to get rid of.
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