NEW GUIDE LISTS CITY PARKING 284-PAGE BOOK INVENTORIES REGION'S ``BEST OFF-STREET'' FACILITIES, NEARBY ATTRACTIONS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

After enduring L.A. freeways, Jacques Mueller learned about the other Los Angeles nightmare: trying to find a place to park once he arrived.

He had made the trip from Orange County to see a comedy show with his brother, and drove straight into the jam that comes when you have no clue where to park.

``You can make a left turn and pay $5.50 and make a right turn and pay $10,'' Mueller said. ``After spending time driving up to see him, I was pulling my hair out.''

Thus was born the Los Angeles Parking Guide, a glovebox-friendly, spiral-bound handbook of where to park in Los Angeles - and what it will cost you morning, evening or weekends.

Mueller and his brother, Luc Adler, recently self-published the 284-page book, priced at $14.95, which inventories the region's ``best off-street'' parking facilities.

``We're hoping by people seeing this information, they use it to arm themselves with the proper knowledge to pick the best one,'' Mueller said.

Chapters are separated into 17 hot spots - Chinatown, Melrose, Venice, Pasadena, for example - and each begins with a map showing the location of the parking lots. From there, each lot has a section that details its rates, hours and access points from the street - some even include the clearance heights so SUV and truck drivers will know whether they can make it.

The strategy was to include lots within a ``tolerable'' walking distance from the main attractions, he said.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, which publishes travel literature but no parking guides for Los Angeles, says any effort to keep drivers from getting aggravated on the road can help.

``You've got all these things in your mind about driving - what freeway, (how long) it's going to take - Then you get there and you didn't even think about where to park,'' said Auto Club spokesman Paul Gonzales. ``One of our things has been to get people to be courteous when they drive,'' said Gonzales, who hadn't seen the book. ``To be able to have one less problem is going to make them a more courteous driver.''

At Book Soup, the trendy, independent bookstore on the Sunset Strip, the bright yellow guide is stocked on the local interest shelves, where publicity director Robin Benway says they've sold a few copies.

Mueller, a real estate professional with a background in the desktop industry who now lives in San Francisco, put together the book on his computer. They self-published the guide in 2002.

The two warn in the preface that while they've been sure to present the information as accurately as possible, the data can be subject to change.

Still, the brothers believe they've hit on a new market. They're hoping to publish a San Francisco guide next, with other big cities to follow as part of the new Car Park series.

``Essentially every old city is a candidate, because they never really took parking into consideration,'' Mueller said. ``They're all candidates for this.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Brothers Jacques Mueller, left, and Luc Adler have published the Los Angeles Parking Guide, a glovebox-friendly, spiral-bound handbook of where to park in L.A., and what it will cost you morning, evening or weekends.

(2 -- color) The Los Angeles Parking Guide, a 284-page book listing off- street facilities, is available for $14.95 at local bookstores.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer