HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/15/2023 Item 6b, Nguyen
Kimmie Nguyen <
To:E-mail Council Website; CityClerk
Subject:8/15/23 City Council Agenda, Item 6.b
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Dear City Councilmembers,
I am writing in opposition of the approval of Item 6b, bonds to fund the Cultural Arts District Parking Project.
I am not intimately familiar with the entire history of the effort behind the Cultural Arts District Parking Structure, and I
can definitely appreciate the enormous amount of time, energy, outreach, and research that multiple staff departments,
Councilmembers, community members, and consultants have all spent in pursuit of this vision. I support the growth and
continual revisioning of our downtown core. However, SLO is not the same place that it was decades ago when the
parking structure first came about. We have new information and insights about how people move about our
community, supported by the findings of the recent Active Transportation Plan, and the Parking and Access
Management Plan.
The Parking and Access Management Plan found that the peak utilization for Downtown Parking was 86% on Thursday
night Farmers Market. Accommodating downtown growth by building an additional parking structure may seem like the
right thing to do. However, scientific studies have found that broad provision of abundant parking actually induces more
driving and car ownership, while reducing transit use (see UCLA/UC Santa Cruz study https://shorturl.at/asO78 and
Smart Transportation Initiative study https://shorturl.at/mDF48). The growth envisioned for downtown needs to happen
in a way that centers people, not cars. The city has adopted extremely ambitious goals for transportation modes by 2030
(going from 67% of people driving alone to 50%). How can this mode shift happen while the city actively invests in
inducing more car usage? Where is the bond measure to run more convenient, frequent bus routes and hire the bus
drivers to man them?
Today, SLO is a city striving to be more pedestrian-friendly, bike-friendly, and transit-friendly than ever - both for
residents and visitors. The city and Council have made strides in supporting alternative modes of transportation that are
safer, healthier, and less expensive than driving a car downtown. A revenue bond of $50 million is a tax on all SLO
residents, whether they drive and use parking structures or not. I urge the Councilmembers to recognize that this
parking structure is a step backwards from the City's financial, transportation, and climate goals, and deny the bond
resolution.
Thank you,
Kimmie Nguyen
Resident
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