What do You think is the way to solve traffic we got, the more we're fer Sure gonna get. If you haven't been playing past eight years: several Silver Lake neighbors got together --kept getting together to work --very hard, to get DASH bus system IN Silver Lake community.
Their reward? Los Angeles city bureaucrats deemed the project "so important" they listed Silver Lake: 22nd on the List --as in, when every Other community has DASH, all the equipment/everything every body needs/wants, they will get around to thinking about it. Or: #22 as in Dead Last. So much for hard work.
Remember the person who came round to every park, every place more than two residents were standing --to ask for our vote, and got it --on promises to "represent" us? --What does our rep in City Council think is the priority?
Eric Garcetti: in some magical way, Found the money to purchase 500 brand-spanking new--wait for it--TaDa Parking Meters? How did he do that? Where will he Get the Money --to remove existing obstacles AND Cut 500 sidewalks? How does he intend to Pay: to maintain 500 Additional Meters? Uh, the money --to purchase DASH buses?
Why would Eric Garcetti Want to insert More parking meters into doing-just-fine Silver Lake? WHERE would 500 new meters be inserted? The answers: just maybe linked?
Think about it: You know a resident who would Like to Pay to park --in front of their home? Who Would like people to Pay? Bingo: a person who has a business --wants cars to Move Along, not stay --in front of their shop. Not too friendly, that.... Business owners in Silver Lake: want people to come in to their business --and Pay for the, uh, privilege. Then: promptly get the heck Out of the way --so others can spend in their shop.
So: Exactly WHY can't D.O.T. enforce existing parking restrictions --get Off their bottoms/out of their cars --chalk tires --write ticket on the overly-parked?
WHY do shop-keepers get Eric Garcetti's ear --but far larger number of residents --don't? Hmmm...could it be: shop owners make campaign donations? --Residents, too busy working to pay sky-high rent, Aren't cramming bucks into Garcetti's hope chest?
If You pay taxes: You Already paid for streets --sidewalks --curbs, maintenance. Why should you Pay to rent curb space? If a person can afford it: they will not Be forced to pay to rent a curb --they will pay for off-street parking, pay a driver or a cab to get from place to place. The people who are forced to pay to use curb space: those who can least afford it, usually.
Pay to park at a curb: a Second tax
A Parking ticket: a Third tax
Penalty added to Parking ticket --"fine": a Fourth tax
No money to pay the Parking ticket: penalty added --a Fifth tax
Fairness? MIA --The well-off don't pay any of it.
Can't pay the ticket or the penalties? Those other robber-barons in State legislature: passed a "law" that allows un-reasonable seizure of property --Without due process --no trial Before seizure --in Direct violation of US Constitution. Car gets sold --for the "penalties" they allowed to be slapped on it. Nice. Cool racket they got going. You had it, now they got it --and pocket the profit when it gets sold off for "payment" of penalty. ALL of us should run for elected office --or to the voting booth.
If a parking meter is anchored in front of their residence: Many Silver Lake residents will be screwed. Most apartment buildings: weren't built with garages, and the City had public transportation when most of Silver Lake was built, turn of the century to 1940s. Who knew: corrupt politicians would be seduced by GM's 'suggestion' to rip out public mass transit, in favor of cars, in cities all over the US --all at the same time....
Therefore: those who can Least afford to park --don't have Alternative method to travel to and from work --and if Parking Meters are jammed in front of their home, no place to park a car either.
What will happen --to families that have lived in Silver Lake for decades? Does twenty --thirty --forty years --long before Eric Garcetti "represented" them, count for nothing? Will less-well-off: be forced to move out of Silver Lake?
--Apartment buildings and now-affordable housing --left vulnerable to "condo conversion" developers --who make campaign 'donations'?
In his defense: a Garcetti staffer, for legislative affairs made a promise to another group of hardworking stakeholders, people who spent Dozens of hours collecting signatures --on Petitions, about Parking Meters. The Staffer Promised: If the esteemed rep for Silver Lake called for the D.O.T. Report on Parking Meters, the group would get Notice --heads up --have opportunity to present the hundreds of pages of signatures to that body known as: Los Angeles City Council.
What happened?
There are so many ways one could put it...one Could say Eric Garcetti got distracted --'consumed' with the "need" to put a hotel --in area in "desperate" "need" of a hotel, Hollywood.... Or: Caught on tape, embracing the person who could 'manage' to fill the "need"? Or: Did he get all passionate --wanting, uh, some other job --higher up the food-chain? Did his daddy whisper words of experience? Did his campaign hope chest grow? $150,000 a year plus all expenses paid --suddenly not enough --for his, uh, skills? Ahhh...the mysteries of life....
More Reality: the Staffer --"forgot" to call.... At a time when that august body of 'law'-makers is usually out --Christmas shopping: they Somehow got the Idea --to Call for the D.O.T. Report --on Parking Meters, in Silver Lake --mere days before Christmas, when they are usually on vacation.
Nobody sitting on that body Heard from the Community. --Nobody in the Community KNEW they were Listening to D.O.T. --tell the "City Council" it 'Wasn't' Possible for meter-monsters, paid by an enormous private multi-national corporation, to get off their butts, Get Out of their cars --Enforce existing Parking Restrictions. Gee, how did that happen.
Uh, WHY can't butt-lazy ticket-writers Get Out of Cars --DO The Job they are paid to do? WHY "can't" head of D.O.T. Order them to Do the Job??? If They Did their job: NO NEED for Parking meters. duh
Meter Money
You are in favor of meters --for the money they bring in? Where does the money Go? If Silver Lake had More meters --what could we do with it? Sorry, try again. That august body downtown: sold off the Meter Money Business, quietly --several years ago --to said ginormous multi-national. Corp. Keeps majority of the money, ships tiny remaining fraction to the City's pot. --No local community gets to Keep the money it earns renting curbs.
Still want to help enrich the corporation?
Flash forward: a man, in another congested part of Los Angeles, gets the idea There Must Be a Better Way. The Way? The Way New York --San Francisco --China --India --hundreds of cities round the world get around: pedi-cabs. He solves all Kinds of problems, works on the idea --until he gets it all worked out. He presents the idea to the august body --using Law. That towering inferno of "representatives" deemed his idea --giant nope --naw --'illegal' --not on their watch.
Hmm...then the Geniuses at D.O.T. "decided" they could not slap a permit on a pedi-cab --so they said he could not put pedi-cabs out to help the most congested place this side of Arizona. Oh, it's Okay for San Francisco...well maybe there was no "campaign contribution" attached?
Uh, does D.O.T. force people on bicycles to get a "Permit"???
Ah well...the non-lawyers --who make Laws for Everybody else, even at the Beach, which they DON'T own, and even the air --five feet outside buildings they also DON'T own, won't allow pedi-cabs --"can't" find the money for DASH --common sense or ways to EASE traffic. Can "find" ways: to put a hotel in Hollywood, parking meters in front of homes, convert Affordable housing into over-priced condos and every stupid impediment going --to Thwart what Residents Do Want.
WHO is working for Whom here?
What happened to our "representation"? When does that begin? When does DASH get to Silver Lake? If You come home from long day at work and bumper-car commute --to find Parking Meter planted in front --what will you do --then?
What do You think?
Which way should Silver Lake deal with traffic problems? It's Your turn --have your say --in the Poll, in the Sidebar. You can Vote --until noon Monday. Haven't done a Poll before, not all that sure how the tech part goes, so I'm hoping for good outcome/no break-down. If it goes wrong somehow: I'll repeat it. If you know any of those who worked on DASH, Petitions or the man who organized Pedi-cab business: e-mail them to pop in and Vote.
I've thought of more Poll subjects, if you want to suggest a topic: post in Comments below.
UPDATE Poll deadline will be extended
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tag: Silver Lake DASH bus mass public transportation parking meter congestion traffic residential business district neighborhood local zone, pedi-cab, D.O.T. corporate private enforcement restriction ticket tickets permit preferential license bicycle path Los Angeles City Council Eric Garcetti illegal tax seizure off-street garage space property due process Silver Lake daVine
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