HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Katz
Todd Katz <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Parking Garages & Active Transportation Goals
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Honorable City Council Members & Mayor Stewart:
It seems the die has been cast regarding the city's approach to unpopular (to say the least) meter and parking fees,
despite an apparent willingness to make minor concessions (such as extending "free one hour" to non-locals). That's too
bad. I think a bigger step back is warranted.
From my perspective, it's hard to reconcile the buildouts of bicycle path on major city streets which have crimped
daytime vehicle traffic (intentionally, apparently) with the desire to construct a multi-story ($40-60 $million) parking
garage for hundreds of vehicles that is far afield from any current downtown destinations. Do we want more vehicles on
our streets ... or not? Is there a plan to extend "commercial downtown" past Nipomo St. to where Higuera St. meets
Marsh St.? (I think the area between Higuera and Marsh is charming and functional as is and would not benefit the city
from becoming a downtown-ish strip containing, for example, a Banana Republic.)
Was consideration ever given to turning the parking garage designate area on Nipomo St. into simply a parking lot, with
meters, and maybe a nice shuttle to downtown during major business hours? Using the money saved, the city could
build highly functional north-south, east-west and diagonal car-and-truck-free bicycle and e-bike corridors. The bike
path near the railroad tracks is already is a great example. If that path could be extended to Tank Farm Road, and then
Tank Farm Rd. expanded to included fully-protected bicycle paths on each side of a four-lane road (rather than the
current extremely dangerous two-lane road that Tank Farm is), the city would be halfway to a "Bicycle Route 360". Then
even older &/or less mobile folks could get around town on e-bikes without much worry about ending up in the ER or
worse. To me futuristic bike corridors would be a better use of $40-60 $million and a much better bet on a reduced-
vehicle yet still vibrant downtown future.
Todd Katz
San Luis Obispo
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