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Home My WebLink About11/7/2023 Item 6a, Streets For All From:Pease, Andy Sent:Monday, November 6, 2023 10:03 AM To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Item 6a - SLO Streets for All Follow Up Flag:Follow up Flag Status:Flagged Colleagues – The following email was forwarded to me, so I’m sending it here for the record. City considering free parking downtown this Tuesday 11/7 This Tuesday, November 7th at 5:30pm the San Luis Obispo City Council will discuss providing the first hour free to all drivers (tourist, visitors, and locals) one free hour of parking. This staff recommendation is coming after some after some businesses and people have complained about high parking costs. The cost of free parking affects more than lost revenue. Free parking negatively affects our city's climate plan as well as mode shift, transit and downtown vision goals. Unfortunately only the lost revenue specific concerns are discussed in councils' agenda packet. In fact no alternatives are explored, no data on business performances, no discussion on impacts the change this may inflict, nothing to base a $1.4 million per year decision to subsidize parking other than complaints and anecdotes from people writing the council. Another odd thing is that the motion to provide free parking comes as part of a request for proposal to study parking rates and provide analysis on the effects of climate action, mode shift, transit and downtown vision goals! The recommendation is a reversal of rate changes made just a couple months ago. We need people to write in, speak up, and/or show up to discourage council from making such a huge fiscal change! Financial decisions of this magnitude should include data that recognizes the entirety of the impacts. Some talking points, alternatives, and useful information are listed below. Meeting Date & Time: Tuesday Nov 7, 2023 at 5:30PM Agenda Item: 6a Parking Program Update Email: emailcouncil@slocity.org Zoom: https://slocity-org.zoom.us/j/87138629058 (Meetings now have an option to participate in public comment remotely) 1 Telephone: Call 1-669-444-9171 and enter the Meeting’s ID 871 3862 9058 to join by telephone audio only. Press star nine (*9) to “raise your hand” when the comment period on your item of interest begins. You will be notified when you’ve been unmuted and it’s your turn to speak. Comments are limited to 3-minutes. Thanks for you support. Talking points  Free parking only encourages single occupant vehicle trips.  Addition vehicle traffic downtown makes downtown less desirable.  Additional vehicles downtown make it less safe for people walking and biking.  Encouraging vehicle travel will only increase traffic, congestion, and noise, which will be harmful to vibrancy of downtown.  Any excess money generated by parking fees could be used to give people other options to get downtown without a car, such as micro-transit options (transit is also being discuss just after the parking fee item)  People spend money, not vehicles. Focusing on only vehicle patrons comes at the cost of excluding good alternatives that could achieve better visitation.  Parking fees were increased to build a $53M parking structure downtown.  What data is provided to indicate that subsidized parking is a necessary change?  Free parking was given away during the pandemic draining the parking fund, thus requiring higher fees later to meet debt and maintenance needs. Free parking now, means higher costs later.  Its not fiscally responsible. Parking expenditures exceed revenues if first hour free is establish.  The City already gives the first hour free to locals, subsidizing parking for tourist doesn't make sense.  The City does a lot for downtown businesses, continued high cost support for downtown businesses is not fair to other business around town.  People may not be visiting downtown for other reasons other than parking cost, (e.g downtown business may not be attracting certain groups of potential community members such as families with young kid).  What does it say about the City's commitment to vehicle infrastructure over transit and active transporation.  City is willing to make a quick data-less decision to support vehicle usage, but takes years to make streets safer for those outside a vehicle.  Parking is an easy target, nobody likes paying for it and everyone wants more of it.  Area used for parking could be used for other community benefits, therefore should be paid for no matter how long one stores a vehicle in it.  Other economic factors are affecting people 2 Alternatives to free parking that support downtown business without sacrificing City Goals  Create car-free Sundays along Higuera and Marsh (short term over the holiday season, or maybe well into the future). The city does it every Thursday, why not gain the benefits on another day. Retailers can expand into the sidewalks and streets for higher visibility. Restaurants can set up some small tables outside.  Use parking funds to provide a micro-transit service similar to Truckee's TART Connect or New Jersey's Jersey City micro-transit. This could be replicated for destinations to/from the downtown area providing cheap and convenient access downtown while helping meet some of our unmet transit needs.  Increase trolley frequently and/or add other hop-on/hop off shuttle van routes as spoked in/out of downtown. Helping meet unmet transit needs and reducing single occupant vehicle trips.  Allow SLO county residents to have a prepaid parking account for a reduced hourly rate (on top of the existing local hour of free parking)  Allow business to purchase parking validation vouchers at a reduced rate to hand out to customers.  Adjust the buy local program to include prepaid parking vouchers as part of the rewards program.  Make downtown feel safer for biking and walking by taking a bigger step in making downtown car-lite, adding pedestrian malls, banning right-on-red turns. Useful information Current Parking Garage rates:  $3/hour  $12 daily max  $15 overnight  First hour free for locals Current on-street parking rates:  $4/hour or $3/hour depending on location (9:00AM to 9:00PM) Providing First Hour Free: $1.4M per year in lost revenue. Long term forecast indicates parking fund balance would be depleted by 2029/30. Meeting Date & Time: Tuesday Nov 7, 2023 at 5:30PM Agenda Item: 6a Parking Program Update Email: emailcouncil@slocity.org Zoom: https://slocity-org.zoom.us/j/87138629058 (Meetings now have an option to participate in public comment remotely) Telephone: Call 1-669-444-9171 and enter the Meeting’s ID 871 3862 9058 to join by telephone audio only. Press star nine (*9) to “raise your hand” when the comment 3 period on your item of interest begins. You will be notified when you’ve been unmuted and it’s your turn to speak. Comments are limited to 3-minutes. Andy Andy Pease pronouns she/her/hers Council Member Office of the City Council 990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249 E apease@slocity.org slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications 4