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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Risner natalie@shopapropos.com Sent: 00 PM To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Parking rates Item 6A meeting 11/07/2023 This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond. Dear SLO City Council Members, We have written you multiple times this year with concerns about the parking rate increases before you decided to increase the rates. We had worries it would greatly effect our business. Now we are 4 months into this new change of increase and a year into the technology changes and we have never seen so many complaints and a drop in business in the 21 years we have been in business in Downtown San Luis Obispo. We have also noticed in the past few months walking about downtown there are parking spots empty on the street that are usually full. We park in the structure and it is also very empty. So we are writing you again to tell you how sad we are about our beautiful downtown and how these changes are effecting it. We are writing you on behalf our our business Apropos, I Natalie Risner grew up in San Luis Obispo and opened Apropos with my mother in 2002. Prior to that my mother, Laura Bjorklund was in business in Downtown San Luis Obispo with her ladies clothing shop “Up Your Alley” which opened on Higuera in 1976. So combined we have been in business here for 46 years. We have seen many changes throughout the years and have always enjoyed being a part of the downtown community. Our businesses have supported our families and enabled us to continue to live here and raise another generation. We are part of the community, we shop locally, we send out kids to dance class, we eat at locally owned restaurants. We see how it is all connected and if we do not continue to support the downtown it will become a skeleton of a town and businesses will continue to move away from the downtown core. We have seen so many complaints from customers and now many have just stopped coming. We are unsure how much longer we will be able to continue in this very unfriendly and exclusive downtown environment. With the rate increases and confusing parking apps and kiosks you have essentially excluded an entire population of people. Many seniors we talk to find so many barriers to coming downtown they now choose to go elsewhere. Do you not want the senior community enjoying downtown? There are so many places to shop and go for a meal on the central coast, so now with these extreme increases and changes you have eliminated this choice as an attractive one. You now have driven people away and their habits have changed so they now must be won back to get them to return. As a locally owned small business these last few years have been especially trying and many of us are so grateful to have survived it. It seems awfully sad for the very real reality that our city government making these changes to our downtown will be the end to many businesses continuing here in San Luis Obispo. Please consider making changes immediately and work to win our locals back to the downtown! Some solutions we would be welcoming to see: ~ bring back the 1st hour free to everyone in the parking garages 1 ~reduce the rate in the parking garages to $1.50 per hour ~reduce rates on the street ( City Of Santa Cruz charges 1.25 per our and Downtown Los Angeles charges $4.00 in the city core, seems like our city is more similar to Santa Cruz than LA) ~stop meters fees after 6PM ~bring back the trolley but in a more regular capacity where it is downtown circling and stopping at the garages and other popular locations to help move people throughout the downtown without them having to move their car from the garage or other locations. Natalie Risner and Laura Bjorklund Apropos 1021 Morro Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-784-0664 www.shopapropos.com Natalie Risner Apropos 1021 Morro Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-784-0664 natalie@shopapropos.com www.shopapropos.com 2