$7.00 to park my car, as a prelude to a $150-200 dinner? What's the problem? I would imagine the restaurants pay the city a fee for the privilege. Come to think of it, they must pay a fee, or every restaurant in town would do the same.

Why not call the police department and ask if it's legal? If it's legal, they better be paying the city a tidy fee.

Palo Alto Municipal Code Chapter 10.45 governs valet parking. Legal so long as the restaurants have the necessary permits and have paid the appropriate fees.

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Not everybody goes to downtown for a $150-200 dinner. Sometimes we go for the movies (the Aquarius is down the street, sometimes for gelato, sometimes just to stroll). Doesn't it strike you as illegal to have to pay to park in the street?

Many of the downtown restaurants use the CalTrain parking lot, or they (illegally) use parking places at local businesses. The office at the corner of Lytton and High has just a few parking spots, but they're always full at night when the building is empty.

The people who PAY for that building would like to use their own parking spaces in the evening -- but have to call a tow truck in order to do so. It's annoying.