Damien Newton

Last week, State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) introduced legislation that takes aim at how California's municipalities think about parking and parking requirements.  What SB 518 (PDF) is missing in co-sponsors it makes up for in chutzpah.  If enacted, the legislation would require that every municipality in the state earn at least "20 points" in parking reforms.  These reforms range from eliminating a city's parking requirement for development, which is worth 20 points to requiring that employers offer transit passes en lieu of parking worth only 2 points.

Transit advocates around the state are trying to grapple with the new reality that the budget compromise worked out between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature completely abolishes the State Transit Assistance (STA) and the $536 million that it dedicated to subsidizing transit operations.