Iif Parking Meters are put on Solono Ave. The meters will distroy the Business! Near by Cities don't have them ,El Cerrito, the Plaza,,Emerville .. Shoppers will go else where to shop for free.,El Cerrito, had Parking Meter's.Then had to remove them.The shop owners complained, great loss of Customers!.So they did a test,put bags on the meters. The Customers came back! The Meters were removed. Albany needs to , learn a lesson from El Cerrito went through. They lost revenue! If people shop else where,the Tax revenues go down!And our Property Taxes will go up!. What about the loss of Taxes from the Race Track? Isn't that enough. It's time to fight the Parking meter Battle again! Do the Business want it?. If you put Meters on Solono, Customers and Business owners,Employees,will park on the side Steets offf Solono Ave.We already don't have enough parking spots now. Then we have to park on Marin. The City will put Parking Permit's in front of our Homes..They make you pay for them. Only Streets off of Solono,. This is unfair added cost (Tax) for every Home owner off Solono Ave. It's a yeary fee! So then we have to pay to park in front of our own homes yearly. no cost now, is free. Can you afford it? Is this fair to the home owner's? All for not ,there will be fewer people shoping here.Then the Meter's will get removed and Permit signs.More Tax payer cost. Please!, do not put Parking meter's in Albany. Don't be stupid!!!!! Thank you for letting me have a voice . Rhoda Bennett

I agree that parking meters in Albany will hurt locally-owned businesses.
If the city wants to write more parking tickets, I think that automated parking enforcement vehicles that read license plates would be more efficient than the current chalking of tires and it won't discourage shoppers.
It seems that the city government is willing to bend over for big corporations (Target, Whole Foods, UC,) but they are not doing much to encourage purchasing from locally-owned businesses.

I am a Berkeley resident who has increasingly paronized Albany businesses specifically because the parking is easier and less costly than in Berkeley. If you make parking more onerous in Albany business areas, I and others will have no reason to favor Albany.

I always brag to my friends that Albany does NOT have meters. I don't find much congestion on Solano. Drivers are polite, adding another point to why I like living in Albany. At least WAIT until the work on the BART line is completed. That project took MANY spaces away temporarily.

The committees can say it is about the environment or reducing congestion, but I believe it is about money for the city. Who gets the money from the parking meters? The city. Who gets the revenue from the parking tickets? The city. Who gets the revenue from people paying for residential parking permits? The city. I understand the city needs revenue, especially without money that has been there in the past from the state. But just say that. Don't try to make it out as being environmental.

And what about employees at the elementary schools? Where are they supposed to park if a residential permit is instituted? Cornell doesn't have a parking lot and as far as I know, neither does Marin. Ocean View has a small one.

Aggressive parking meters around Grand Lake Theater - check. Avoid area.
Aggressive parking meters around Piedmont - check. Avoid area.
Aggressive parking meters around Downtown Berkeley - check. Avoid area.
Aggressive expensive parking meters around Montclair - check. Avoid area.

No parking meters in Albany -- rejoice, go shopping, go out to eat day and night, spend money, feel at ease and relaxed. I spend my money here by choice for good reasons. Will Albany recognize this or will the city's greed trounce common sense?

Does more need be said?

Not that more needs to be said, but...
I was just ringing up a customer who congratulated me for still being in business after a year and a half. She said that she never stops in Berkeley anymore because the parking in Albany is so plentiful and she doesn't have to bother with the meters.
Maybe the city of Albany could do some promoting of that fact and attract more folks to shop here.

Please--no residential parking permits, no meters. I too believe that these measures would adversely affect local businesses.

There is no doubt that there would be a negative impact on Albany's commercial businesses, but worse: it will push even MORE businesses to park on residential streets, which are already over burdened by City's greed in encouraging commercial development in spite of lousy parking requirements. Expand on this? Sure
. Note new two story structures that have parking IF you negotiate a 10' wide parking access route. Also note large commercial buildings that charge their tenants to have parking, so their lot is EMPTY while side streets are crowded out (Solano and Ramona, Pamona, Key Route areas, etc. etc.).( This isn't a town ruled by citizens, or even a mayor; it's ruled by a City Manager. Don't believe me? Ask any Albany Policeman)

You won't find the city of Albany offering the details on how much money they lose paying for meter maids, or whatever they are called, compared to what is collected. though this is public information, this is more about cronieism than budget issues or anything else. This is just like the desperate need we have to spend hundreds of thousands on street sweepers, which is folly and corruption at its most honest. As long as we have corrupt politicians and city leaders, either via their ineptness or their self serving, we will see our community wither and drown in a sea of idiotic decisions. The best way to deter it is to boycott Solano street until this folly ends.

Brian, thanks for the information, I checked it out. In regards to sweet sweeping, I commute to UC Berkeley every work day on my bike, and every few days I stop to remove something on the road that might end up in a car tire (maybe mine). Mostly it's construction related--sharp screws, stubby screwdrivers, box cutter blades, etc. So I'm a fan of sweep sweeping.

As for parking enforcement, the old profit maximizing rule says that we should keep hiring parking enforcement officers until the income from the last officer hired equals the amount of money they collect. Based on your numbers, we are not there yet. So the city could probably make money hiring more parking control officers. Perhaps some of this extra revenue would come at the expense of income for our businesses. How to balance all these factors is a value judgement however, not an economic one. Cheers.

Hello. Thank you all for writing here. Please stay on top of this Parking Meter and permit parking issue. The Traffic and Saftey commision is going to be discussing ,Parking at their metting in April.(Only states" Parking ") maybe Parking Meter too?!) The Business Owner's and Employees parking Permit's are also being discussed by Council etc. .So please come to the meeting's and write letters to the City Albany Council and commisions. I think that the parking meter's were removed in El Cerrito about 1951 or so. Never brought them back.
We were in down town Livermore ,this weekend. Wonderful shoping area. Pedistrian friendly. Fountain's etc. No Parking meters.!! Free parking. Street trees ,were out in the street.Not blocking the Sidewalks .I think Albany needs better lighting on Solono, Also those flashing lights in the cross walks ,that El Cerrito has on SanPablo Ave are wonderful!!. Also Petaluma has them too.. Albany has double lined cross walk's.big No ,No!! (By Cornell). I agree with all of your responces. Thank you.Tell your neighbord and shop owener's. Sincerly,Rhoda Bennett