When Councilman Eric Garcetti appeared at a Hollywood hot dog shop Friday to announce a proposal to exempt hybrid vehicles from city parking meters, he may have gotten a bit ahead of himself.
As the press conference came to a close, his fiancee's 2004 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle sat nearby in front of an expired parking meter. A bike-riding parking enforcement officer saw it and began to write a ticket.
An aide to Mayor James K. Hahn, the proposal's co-author, quickly explained the new proposal to an officer. If approved by the City Council, the aide explained, in September hybrid vehicle owners would no longer have to plunk their pocket change in city meters.
The officer had a ready response: It's not September yet.
The aide plunked a quarter in the meter, and the officer backed down.
So began the city's campaign to promote the environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles, which use a mixture of gas and electricity.
If the measure passes, hybrids would join electric and fuel cell vehicles in the elite class of meter-exempt vehicles.
In parts of L.A., where a good parking space is as prized as a three-picture deal, citizens were generally supportive of the measure, which Garcetti brought to the City Council on Friday.
Motorists told stories of seemingly endless searches for parking and screaming matches over contested spots.
Many spoke admirably about the proposal's environmental benefits. But when asked whether the perks would wean them from gas guzzlers, most said the few extra coins were unlikely to sway them.
"That's lovely for the people that drive rubber-band cars," said Ruth Orbuch, a 74-year-old from Bel-Air, who drove to Larchmont in her Jaguar to celebrate a friend's birthday. "I don't think they're safe or nearly heavy enough."
A block away, Jessika Wood, 29, said everyone at the class she attended that morning spoke favorably about the mayor's new proposal. "There are too many meters and too many rules," she said as she dropped coins into a meter. "You have to read an essay before you can park."
But when Wood, who drives an older Ford Explorer, was asked if she would consider buying a hybrid, she shook her head. A recent car accident convinced her that reliability and safety were her priorities, things she didn't associate with hybrids.
In Larchmont Village, where a quarter will buy a car 30 minutes rent, lunchers sat in lines six cars deep waiting for a spot to open up.
