Supervisor Jeffries Calls For Parking Study

Parking outside the Riverside County Regional Medical Center or any other county-operated building could come at a price in the future if an analysis ordered by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday shows that charging for parking is advantageous.
"Some of our county facilities are charging, but others are not," Supervisor Jeff Stone said. "We just did an expansion of the medical center parking lot, which is full 90 percent of the time I'm there. It's reasonable to collect a small fee to mitigate what we spend to take care of it."
Stone and Supervisor Kevin Jeffries asked that the Economic Development Agency conduct a study to determine the potential revenue gains from imposing a parking fee -- and what savings might accrue from automating all county lots and garages instead of staffing them with attendants.
"When I was taking my father to USC Hospital (just before he passed away), there was paid automated parking. It was simple to get in and out of there," Jeffries said. "We need to look at what is feasible and what is not. This is long overdue."
Supervisor Marion Ashley expressed concern about asking indigent patients and their families using the RCRMC to open up their pocketbooks for use of a parking space at the Moreno Valley facility when they're probably strapped for cash to begin with.
"Some of these folks don't have anything," Ashley said. "It's almost cruel to make them pay, especially for an emergency room visit."
Stone replied that the hospital could always issue vouchers to emergency room patients, sparing them the $2 or $3 cost of a space.
According to EDA Director Rob Field, the county collects nothing for use of some lots.
"As we grow into a more urban county, there will be growing pains, and there is resistance to that," he said. "We need to see to what degree we can charge."
Field suggested hiring a consultant to "guide us through the process."
But Jeffries was put off by the idea of "front-loading" any study with consultants' fees billed to the county and asked that any assessment be handled in-house for starters.
The board voted 4-0 for the EDA to conduct a study on the advantages of self-service kiosks in parking lots and how best to approach charging for use of the hospital's lot.
The assessment is slated to be completed and returned to the board in 90 days. --City News Service