Parking Remains Key Issue in J-Town
NAO GUNJI
Rafu English Assistant Editor
Saturday, May 9, 2009

Survey finds off-street parking is underutilized in Little Tokyo.

MARIO G. REYES/Rafu Shimpo
Participants offer input during in a meeting on parking in Little Tokyo held last Thursday at the Japanese American National Museum.

Off-street parking in Little Tokyo is underutilized, while on-street parking is full and often unavailable, a survey revealed to a group of community members at a study meeting held last Thursday at the Japanese American National Museum by Little Tokyo Community Advisory Committee.

Conducted by Wilbur Smith Associates, the survey indicates that at its peak time (from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays), the off-street parking occupancy is only 59 percent in Little Tokyo, although 63 percent park off-street. Fifty percent find it moderately difficult to find a parking space in the area, and 40 percent are willing to walk a couple blocks to park.

The survey also found that out of 44 on-street parking spaces, only 20 percent of parked vehicles were on paid meters. Government/Motor Pool vehicles occupied 18 percent and Handicapped Placard vehicles were 18 percent (the figures were obtained on Thursday, April 30, between 10:30 to 11 a.m. on Second and San Pedro streets).

At the meeting, planning consultant Michael Kodama led group discussions and asked the participants to identify the most important parkers in Little Tokyo, parking issues and solutions/strategies.

“How many of you carry eight quarters in your pocket? As a customer, I wasn’t really happy that I had to do that,” said Kodama, sharing his experience of visiting and parking in Little Tokyo.

“Who’s the number one parker in Little Tokyo? I think customers before employees, without customers, there would be no employees,” he continued. “Right now, that’s not happening in Little Tokyo.”

Majority of the participants agreed that the neighborhood needs unified, more visible signs for off-street parking, such as a big, colorful “P.” Security, pricing, better payment system were among other concerns.

A few community members expressed their frustration over the topic and sought an immediate action.

Kodama told the audience that improving the parking situation would help revitalizing the community. “When I look at Little Tokyo, it needs a comprehensive on-street and off-street system. I don’t see any system here where I can understand what people are trying to do,” he said.

A next Little Tokyo parking community meeting is scheduled for the first week of June and the Committee expects to file preliminary recommendations to the city based on the findings from the meeting. For more information, call Deborah Lewis at Wilbur Smith Associates at (213) 627-3855.