The Culver City city council meeting on July 14, 2014 had a long agenda, and two items that both touched on public transportation came out as victories for the public; free parking for the train and free fares for the blind.
The controversy over the possible future lack of parking at the Expo train station was fueled by a confusing headline in a local publication after the last council meeting. Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells offered that panic was not just premature, but unwarranted.
“Parking is required for the the Expo stop, and of course, we have that requirement covered for the upcoming construction.” Using the city structure at Ince, the city has 300 spaces reserved for Expo parking when the construction begins in an estimated two years. Once the construction is complete, there will be over 1500 parking spaces available for the train-riding public to use. Also, the opening of the next stretch of line to Santa Monica in 2015 is expected to shift the need for parking, as Culver City will no longer be the end of the line. “There are going to be a lot of opportunities for public input in regard to the parking situation.”
While the item proposing a fare change for blind passengers had some support from transit, it had no support from the council, and was voted down, keeping the Culver City buses free of charge for those with disabling vision impairments.
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