HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Silton
From:Blake Silton <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Parking in SLO
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Hello,
I saw your flyers downtown and wanted to share some thoughts in support of the state of parking. My overall outlook is
positive, but there are notable caveats. I'm sure many folks emailing will be frothing at the mouth, ranting and raving
about the price hikes and time adjustments. I implore you to take those opinions with a grain of salt; anger and
displeasure are much greater motivators for feedback than their counterparts. My first reaction was admittedly much
the same. However, setting aside my initial emotional response, I realize that the recent parking changes ultimately
point us towards building a healthier and safer SLO.
The life of SLO's downtown is carried on the back of its walkability. People don't go downtown out of enthusiasm for
crossing streets. Putting aside the indisputable danger posed by cars to pedestrians—a good reason in and of itself to
disincentivize driving—their presence downtown only makes pedestrians feel out of place. To put it bluntly, I am not a
car. My neighbors are not cars. Cars don't hold office, sit on the city council, and make decisions about infrastructure.
And yet, with even the oldest and wisest amongst us (barring centenarians) having grown up in a world built for cars, we
have tragically forgotten where our foot ends and the gas pedal begins, and accordingly take up arms to support the
right for cars to spend time downtown instead of people. Garden Street between Marsh and Higuera demonstrates a
beautiful microcosm of land use focused on people over vehicles. It is a sleepy sanctuary from the anxiety-ridden
thoroughfares it connects, where folks lounge, eat, and converse, and children have space to enjoy their youth. It is no
coincidence that this street has remarkably little parking and remarkably wide sidewalks compared to its surroundings.
In a very real sense, every parking spot downtown is a tree, bench, or table stolen from our community. More such
spaces means more people spending more time and money downtown at local businesses. Not only that, such walkable
areas are consistently desirable and contribute positively to property values.
The caveats of this treatise lie heavily in the state of our public transit. More restrictive parking opportunities downtown
will inevitably come with growing pains. If we seek to assuage them, we need convenient and effective alternatives. The
easiest path would have been improving public transit before restricting the convenience of driving. As it stands, other
options are inconvenient, inconsistent, and disappointing. A 10-minute drive across town is an hour by bus; if that's not
a failure then I must misunderstand the word's meaning. I do applaud the recent improvements to bike infrastructure.
They are tempered only by SLOs worsening sprawl and hilly topography.
It is frankly a bad investment to be spending time on adjusting how parking works instead of working on improving our
bus system. Sure, charge more for parking, but implementing new payment methods seems like change simply for its
own sake and thus constitutes a waste of time and money. For the betterment of our city, our health, and our
environment, we should be focused on getting as many people out of cars as possible. Yes, parking is important for
tourists and visitors, but if we provide enough opportunity for residents to NOT drive, then we open up space in the
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existing parking structures. Improving public transit and, importantly, encouraging its use (perhaps advertising on
parking meters?) creates additional parking spaces without any construction costs.
It is in the city's best interest to disincentivize car travel downtown, but we need alternatives to take its place. The soul
of SLO's downtown is not sidewalks and asphalt, but rather the likes of our wonderfully verdant creekside pathways and
pleasant oases like Garden Street. We find ourselves in the unique and lucky position to catch the well-established
errors of car-focused infrastructure early, adjust our trajectory, and build a city not for machines but for people. We can
serve as an example of how to build a city right. The process will be neither easy nor painless, but the alternative sees
SLO turning into some soulless unappealing suburb instead of the vibrant community it stands to be.
Thank you for your consideration.
Blake Silton
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