LAGUNA BEACH : City Plans New Tram, Parking Fees

To offset the cost of running the city’s transit service, the City Council has voted unanimously to boost summer tram fees from 75 cents to $1 and to begin charging a parking fee at a lot that motorists have used free.

The lot, on the north side of Laguna Canyon Road about a mile inland from downtown, is used primarily by people who visit or work for the city’s festivals each summer.

Since the parcel, known as the Act V parking lot, is leased to the city by the Irvine Co. at no charge, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said, the landowner must approve the parking fee.

If approval is given, motorists would pay $1 per car to park at the lot from Monday through Friday, except Friday nights. During peak hours--Friday night, Saturday and Sunday--the fee would be $2. A one-way tram ticket will also be provided to parkers.

Frank said it is not yet clear how much the city would raise with the additional tram and parking fees.

Laguna Beach is the only city in Orange County with its own transit system, and it costs the city about $70,000 each year to keep the 11 buses and trams running, Frank said. The bulk of the costs are covered by state and federal grants and by transit fees.

The transportation system includes a year-round fixed route bus system that runs Monday through Saturday, as well as the tram service during the summer.

“It’s a relatively modest investment for the city to have three fixed routes throughout the year that go up into our hills and provide transportation for our kids, domestic workers and seniors,” Frank said. “In summer, we need the trams or else the place is going to be gridlocked down here.”

Terry Brandt, municipal services director, said it is reasonable to assume that the Irvine Co. will allow the city to collect the parking fees because the money will be used to help keep the tram system running, and without the tram system, the Act V lot would not be used.