HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Goodreau
James Goodreau <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Unhappy With Parking Downtown
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Hi there,
To begin, I have lived at 642 (and 638) Monterey St since 2012 so believe I qualify as a downtown Resident. We have had
so many new meters, rules and regulations along with a now new parking structure going in directly next door to my
home. We have no street parking passes the way that Peach, Dana, Broad (Mission School side) etc has. We are unable
to have any guests park without paying. I am now unable to use the perfectly fine parking lot that was next door
because it will be under construction the next couple of years. Out of a $50,000,000+ budget the new parking structure,
the city allocated only $37k for the owner (Dave Hannings) next door, as they need to dig under the property to anchor
the structure. This was a slap in the face to Dave as he has dedicated his life to Cal Poly, The History Center, Dallidet
Adobe and numerous other public projects. He was asked for permission to dig under 638 Monterey extremely late in
the process of planning, a week before groundbreaking. No offer of parking spots for Residents was given, which was
another lack of care/foresight on SLO city councils part.
It is very clear the city is either A) in desperate need of money or B) the city is being mismanaged in every aspect.
We live in one of the most expensive areas in the nation and it is sad what our downtown is being turned into by our
elected officials. Homeless groups of people are on every corner, more shops and restaurants are closing quarterly than
ever before, large storefronts (old Beverly’s, Ross etc) sit vacant with no intention of being transformed for public good.
This is very concerning to me that the city has a lack of empathy, planning and understanding when it will harshly effect
its Residents. Do you really think San Luis Obispo will crumble if parking is free downtown? There is no reason we need
to be paying such a premium for parking in an already failing downtown. If parking was free this would allow the
downtown to thrive again like it once was.
To condense the above statements:
1) SLO city council is borderline broke and/or being mismanaged and taken advantage of.
2) SLO city council does not care about its Residents who live directly downtown.
3) SLO city council is already failing in many major public interest projects, raising parking rates is a desperate ploy to
recoup mismanaged funds at the public expense.
4) Parking should be free downtown or be able to be validated at a store with purchase.
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I will expect a reply to let me know you have read this, otherwise I will assume this went to a spam bot and deleted
(would not be surprised).
Thank you
-James Goodreau
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