Merchants Rally Against Parking Meters

With its mix of boutiques, cafes and galleries, Leimert Park has blossomed in recent years as a center of African American culture in Los Angeles.

But some business owners in the neighborhood say their future as a unique enclave is endangered by a ubiquitous nuisance--the parking meter.

They liken the parking meters, scheduled to crop up in two city-owned lots, to weeds that could destroy their cultural garden spot.

Store owners claim that the meters will turn shoppers away from the district off Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards.

“A lot of the businesses are emerging, not established,” said Ruth Nuckolls, owner of an eyeglass shop. “They can’t afford to have someone see the parking meters and decide to go to a mall.”

According to Nuckolls, the loss of only a few customers could put some of the newer shops out of business.

About 25 business owners and neighborhood residents took their cause to the streets Saturday, leveling much of their outrage against City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.

“No meters, no Mark, in Leimert Park !” they chanted.

Foster Phillips, owner of an acclaimed barbecue stand in the neighborhood, said the parking meters could spoil an urban success story if customers leave and businesses close. “We built this ourselves with no grants, no government programs, nothing--just by providing good services and products.”

Mary Kimbrough, owner of the Kongo Square Gallery and Gift Shop, agreed. “Instead of penalizing us, there should be concessions. We are urban pioneers,” she said.

Ridley-Thomas, who lives in Leimert Park, said the meters will help business. He said meter fees will help maintain the two lots improved with lights, landscaping and security fencing.

“This should be viewed as an asset to business owners. It’s secured, lighted parking for patrons,” he said.

Ridley-Thomas said he is committed to putting the meters in. He said he will, however, be willing to discuss the meter rates and other issues with business owners and residents.

Renata Smith, an aide to the councilman, said it will cost about $20,000 a year to maintain the parking lots, which are scheduled to be completed in June and November.

Leimert Park’s shopping streets are already lined with parking meters that charge 25 cents per hour. But business owners said customers of cafes, restaurants and beauty salons often use the free lots in the center of the district when they need to stay longer than the two-hour limit in metered spaces.

According to Smith, the current plan for the new meters will be to charge 25 cents per hour, and to designate many of the meters for long-term parking at one dollar for 10 hours. Smith said the low rates were set to accommodate the needs of business owners.

Opponents of the meters said it’s not the parking fees that will drive off customers, but the specter of tickets, which they see as the motive behind the city’s meter plan. “Once somebody gets an [expensive] ticket they’re not going to want to come around here anymore,” said Richard Fulton, owner of 5th Street Dick’s Coffee Co.