by Reta Moser
Friday I was to have lunch with a friend. She determined it would be Hal’s on Abbot Kinney. After saying yes, in the back of my mind the word “parking” kept flashing. As I drove on Abbot Kinney that Friday, parking was flashing in multi-colors in the forefront of my mind.

I swung around the block once to no avail and then did the big swing from Westminster. I am a walker, I told myself. Walking is good. For me looking for a place to park is tantamount to standing in line. Heading south, I finally found the second spot next to Venice Blvd. Not bad.

My mind filled with the thought that Abbot Kinney in order to survive must solve this parking problem. Much to the chagrin of one facet of Venice, not all people walk or bike to Abbot Kinney. In fact, I didn’t see one bicycle parked.

My friend was late because it took her two circles to find a place. We were waiting for someone else too. I forgot how many times he circled the camp. My friend and I grabbed Don Novack, owner of Hal’s. We both told him our plight. We must have been loud because Mike Sarlo who was in another booth held up his hand showing that he made five passes to find a place. Now that is dedication and persistence for a restaurant. How many customers must Hal’s turn away, I thought.

Don was now sitting with us after our parking rant. What happened to your parking contraption, we asked. Don told us the status. He was waiting to get with Councilman Mike Bonin. Apparently, he made a pitch to Councilman Bill Rosendahl prior to his illness and then when Bill became ill, it was all dropped.

Don said he could park 200 cars behind his restaurant where 50 to 60 are scheduled and limit the height to less than 30 feet. The system has improved and become cheaper since he first talked about it. Don gave us each a sheet from Downtownnews.com. It had an article about Chinatown putting it to use in a low-income project.

Jason Teague, architect for 1414 Main, wants to initiate its use in Venice. Portland, Miami, and New York are other cities who have started using it. Would have been cool to have had the first one on Abbot Kinney but …

One thing the Downtownnews.com article brought out was some tenants liked the idea that their cars were protected from break-ins and even door dings. No valet can guarantee that one.

“I had it set to run on solar,” Don said. “It wouldn’t cost the city anything. I just want to lease the space. I have private investors set up. I have murals from Venice groups planned to make it look compatible and attractive. I even have it set up to put a few neighbors from Electric in it. There are places for bikes to park and be secured. The system is completely versatile I can raise the price, lower the price, change the time limit depending on the time of day, event, etc. Someone asked about noise. There is no noise. “It is electric,” Don said.

I said that would be perfect for the medium on Venice Blvd. Don said he didn’t want to invest his money there, not that it wouldn’t be good. He wanted to put it behind his restaurant where it would benefit him. Well, one can certainly understand that.

Perhaps, it is not too late. The area behind him is set to be graded, cemented, and metered.

So once again, Abbot Kinney, good luck with your parking.