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Not Much Money Have The Meters Made

Posted by: Nate Berg

26 January 2007 - 10:00am

Low parking meter collection rates have shocked public officials in San Francisco, where parking is so valuable people are literally killing for it.

"A report from Board of Supervisors Budget Analyst Harvey Rose shows that San Francisco's roughly 23,000 meters collect on average between $2.61 and $5.59 a day."

"Surprisingly, the lowest collection rates were recorded in the core of downtown San Francisco, where drivers run the gantlet to find a legal parking space and where meters cost as much as $3 an hour."

"Over the past three years, the city has collected $77.6 million in parking meter revenue, well below the $83.5 million originally forecast. But officials at the Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees meter collections, said the numbers are significantly higher than in 2002 when the city collected $12 million."

Full Story: Supes shocked to learn parking meters bringing in millions less than expected
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 2007
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Handicap Placards

Submitted by Ricardo on Fri, 01/26/2007 - 15:48.

At the moment I work South of Market. I'm not sure if it's in the "downtown core" as defined by the article, but the meters are $3/hr. outside my building so I think I am...and nearly every space on the street between the BART station and my office is taken by a car with a handicap placard. Cars with handicap placards, of course, are exempt from paying the meter...so it makes sense that meter revenue is low if everyone parked in a metered space doesn't have to pay the meter.

I need to take a trip north of market to see if the same holds true...although I suspect it does. Makes me wonder how many of these folks are actually handicapped, and how many are just people taking advantage of the system? It also makes me wonder if the ratio of handicap placards to regular parkers increases as the meter fee increases?

This actually might be a real life test case for supply side economics, as the meter rate gets higher and higher, CCSF actually generates less and less revenue as people either a) park somewhere else, or b) are incentivized to break the law by not paying or getting a handicap placard to not pay...

I guess I'll have to wait and see what the Board of Supervisors Report comes up with...probably something about evil downtown corporations not paying their fair share...but, we shall see.

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