HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/7/2022 Item 6a, Brostman
Delgado, Adriana
From:Mark Brostman <mbrostman@gmail.com>
Sent:Saturday, June 4,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Downtown Parking Rates
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Hello,
I believe the proposed parking rate increase will be detrimental to downtown San Luis Obispo business, workers,
community members, and tourists.
I believe the rate increase will deter visitation to the downtown area. The current parking rates are affordable and can
often be an after thought, which encourages people to visit, stay for an extended amount of time, and encourages
visitors to leave with positive thoughts and feelings about the city. With the drastic increase in parking fees, I believe
that people will feel that the city is nickle-and-diming them, which can leave visitors with bad feelings towards the city,
as well as potentially shortening their stay downtown. A shortened stay downtown will have a huge impact on local
business and it can hurt the city parking fund.
The rate increase will drastically affect downtown city workers. Most restaurant workers are making at or near minimum
wage. A huge jump in parking fees will ultimately reduce their take home rate which will hurt San Luis Obispo’s
adorability goals. One might suggest that businesses cover or assist with employee parking fees, but this will negatively
impact business owners and potentially cause them to increase their prices to stay afloat. The aforementioned parking
fee and business price increases will also discourage visitation downtown and encourage visitation to surrounding
businesses and areas which do not have high operating costs.
Finally, the optics of the proposed rate increase are very poor. We are living in an unprecedented time with alarming
inflation and a looming recession. Your goal as city council members is to encourage visitation and business to
downtown San Luis Obispo and I believe that by even proposing a rate increase, you have damaged the downtown area.
--
Mark Brostman, PT, DPT
(248)-891-0301
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