Pricey parking could unclog city's arteries

In Los Angeles, Shoup and his students studied a 15-block area of Westwood Village, where street parking costs 50 cents an hour except during the evenings and Sundays, when it is free. They determined that searches for cheap curbside parking added about 2,500 vehicle trips a day in the area. The average search took about 3.3 minutes, but in the late afternoon and evening, searches took up to 12 minutes.

In contrast, decisions in 1993 to eliminate free curbside parking and set new time limits helped transform Old Town Pasadena over more than a decade from a blighted eyesore into an upscale destination with shops and restaurants.

In L.A., transportation officials are studying high-tech parking meters, pricing strategies and time restrictions.

"Downtown Los Angeles would thrive like Old Pasadena or San Diego if the city priced parking correctly," Shoup said. "That is how we can begin changing the world" -- one parking place at a time.

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dan.weikel@latimes.com