After attending the public hearing Thursday night and listening to what everyone had to say, this is a list of alternatives to parking permits in Venice that were suggested by various people during the hearing.

• Designated parking lots for those people living in RVs and cars to park at during the night. It would give them a safe place to sleep and could provide proper trash disposal, showers and bathrooms.

• Improved trash removal. One complaint was the amount of trash left behind from those without homes or living in vehicles. The truth is though, even those who do have homes contribute to the amount of litter on the roads and beach. Perhaps more trash cans and recycling bins could be placed on the streets.

• Installation of more public rest rooms. People have complained about fecal matter found on the streets and lawns. Access to public rest rooms could help to eliminate this problem.

• Diagonal Parking. Some of the wider streets around Venice might be large enough to have diagonal as opposed to parallel parking spaces, allowing more cars to be parked on roads.

• More parking. Instead of spending thousands of dollars simply for parking signs, construct more public parking lots and structures.

Get creative! Please email me at Arenner@freevenice.org with suggestions on how to fix the parking problem without resorting to permits.

–Amanda Renner