HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/21/2023 Item 6a, Moore
From:M L Moore <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Tues 2-21-23 Meeting Comments
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Concerning the agenda item (6.a) during the meeting on Tuesday February 21, 2023:
San Luis Obispo does not exist in a vacuum. It is the thriving heart of the county and its ongoings affect the neighboring
communities, especially those reliant upon it, such as unincorporated communities.
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Removing the 1 free hour of parking within structures and raising the parking rates is a shortsighted incentive to
encourage biking and public transport. The term “local” extends to more than just the residents within the city of San
Luis Obispo’s limits; the locals that live outside it, whether in rural areas or satellite communities, are going to only be
punished by this so-called incentive.
The option to bike or take a bus isn’t accessible for these outlying locals that spend significant amounts of time in the
city, if these options are accessible at all. The only current public transport route to Los Osos that I am aware of runs
once an hour on weekdays (once every THREE hours on Saturday!) and takes a roundabout path through Morro Bay,
turning what might otherwise been a 40-minute roundtrip errand into a 3+ hour odyssey that requires one to plan their
entire day around. Los Osos Valley Road is a notoriously windy road, and between the length of the trip and the wind
resistance, is hardly recommended for casual cyclers.
The people commuting from satellite communities such as (but not limited to) Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cayucos, and
Cambria, whether they are commuting for work or services not available in their areas of residence, lack the options
you’re trying to encourage with these changes. If you really want to disincentivize personal vehicle traffic to downtown
San Luis Obispo, please invest in public transit infrastructure to make it realistic and convenient for community
residents. Otherwise, we have no choice but to assume we are being punished for living outside of the city limits as the
burden of increased costs are hoisted onto our shoulders, in addition to the high prices of gasoline, in order to
incentivize greener transit for locals living within city limits.
Much of this proposed plan feels like salt being rubbed in a wound, as the city has removed several public parking lots in
the past ten years to pave the path for hotels and other congestion-increasing establishments, and then acted surprised
that local parking has become an issue.
The influx of business of SLO’s satellite communities are just as important to downtown commerce as anyone else’s. If
you must proceed with this plan, I implore you to please ensure that the proposed benefit for locals to keep the first
hour of free parking is extended to residents county-wide. Daily or weekly business in San Luis Obispo is crucial to small
communities and rural residents that have long supported the city with our commerce.
Please consider us, too.
Marissa L. Moore
Lifelong Los Osos resident and SLO frequenter
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