WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Monday, July 2, parking meter rates in West Hollywood rose from $1.50 per hour to $2 per hour. The increase in revenue generated will assist funding for an enhanced Sidewalk Cleaning and Security Services program for commercial regions in area. According to the city of West Hollywood website, the plan for the services was approved by the City Council in April 2018. The new services will be implemented over the next three months.
“The City of West Hollywood is one of the most beautiful places anywhere in the world,” said West Hollywood Mayor John J. Duran. “With a modest increase in our parking meter rates, we’re going to maintain our beautiful city by investing in cleaner sidewalks, safer parks, and more services for the benefit of residents, businesses, and visitors.”
With the Sidewalk Cleaning program, a cleaning process will be used to remove deep stains, grime and gun and special equipment with a deep-penetrating concrete sealer will be spread over to provide a uniform sidewalk surface. The process is environmentally friendly, and allows for the filtering and reuse of water to decrease waste. A pilot program in 2017 tested the process, which focused on four test site locations on the north side of Santa Monica Boulevard (at San Vicente Boulevard, at Fairfax Avenue, and at La Brea Avenue) and on the north side of Sunset Boulevard at Hammond Street. The improved program is expected to expand the process to sidewalks in commercial areas in locations throughout the region and areas impacted by pedestrian traffic will be cleaned weekly.
Joshua Schare, Communications Manager for the City of West Hollywood spoke to Canyon News via email about the new rates.
“It is anticipated that the rate increase will generate approximately $1,780,000 in revenue,” said Schare.
The new Security Services enhancements include augmenting current services delivered by Block by Block security ambassadors, which help in public safety. Law enforcement services are provided in West Hollywood by the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station; Block by Block security ambassadors are contracted by the city to help in identifying and addressing a wide variety of quality-of-life issues.
Since Block by Block bike patrol teams are recognizable, Ambassadors work together with local businesses, residents, and visitors to encourage neighborhood livability and provide friendly customer service. There will also be an expansion of PacWest security in West Hollywood Park and Plummer Park.
There will be added services for after-hours nighttime clean-up services for heavily impacted regions of the city including the Sunset Strip and Santa Monica Boulevard entertainment areas. There will be an expansion of daytime trash and litter pick-up by hand crews, including shopping cart removal services.
“Additional revenue will be used solely to fund enhanced sidewalk cleaning and security services for the city’s commercial areas,” Schare told Canyon News.
For more details, contact Oscar Delgado, Deputy City Manager, city of West Hollywood, at (323) 848-6375 or at odelgado@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, call TTY (323) 848-6496. For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood on social media @WeHoCity and sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email.
