HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/11/2023 Item 8a, Ayral
Odile Ayral <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:8.a. Parking Permit Districts
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Mayor Stewart and Council Members,
Having a parking permit district has been immensely helpful to my neighborhood, and I don’t think my
neighbors and I could have remained in our homes if not for this program. It is probably hard to understand if
you live on a peaceful street far from Cal Poly, but please, walk in my shoes for a minute:
I live on Ferrini Road, between Cerro Romauldo and Felton. This used to be a reasonably peaceful
neighborhood until things changed for the worse:
1) Students were suddenly allowed to live in groups in family houses, and because this area is close to
Cal Poly, our streets were soon invaded by student cars. Many of the students did not even live around
here, they simply dropped their cars on our streets and then rode their bikes or walked to Cal Poly.
2) The situation became even more dire when the school district decided to move Pacheco Elementary
here. Since most parents don’t live in our neighborhood, they drive to Pacheco, park their cars, and
walk their children to their classrooms. On the way, they meet neighbors, or talk to the principal, so this
can lead to extended time parking. Worse, teachers, who thought the school parking lot was too far
from their classrooms, chose to park on the street all day long, leaving nothing for our visitors.
As a result, Ferrini was clogged with cars every day. If you did not have an empty driveway for your plumber
or electrician, you were out of luck. Add car doors slamming day and night, children and parents yelling or
staring at our windows, and you will understand that something had to change. The major change was a
parking permit district for Ferrini Road. When our Cerro Romauldo neighbors noticed the positive
transformation of our street, they requested and received a parking permit district as well. Further improvement
came when we convinced the city to create a two-hour parking on the school side.
Personally, I like two-hour parking. It allows any taxpayer to park anywhere for a short time without being a
burden to neighbors. Several years ago, Derek Johnson led us to believe that the City would take this direction,
but unfortunately—and I don’t know why—it did not happen. Permit districts are the only satisfactory
alternative. They don’t require much work from the parking staff because officers come only if we call
them. During weekends, the SNAP do the work. And the process for acceptance is not really very time
consuming because the chosen residents circulate the petition and information to their neighbors
themselves. The staff only need to verify everything and to make their recommendation. I therefore urge you
to continue the parking permit district program under current adopted policies. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Odile Ayral
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