HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Cook
Emma Cook <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Concern over Parking Rates in SLO
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Good Morning,
I'll keep it brief and to the point -- the parking is too expensive. It's restrictive to locals and it's restrictive to visitors.
Multiple friends of mine have stopped visiting coffee shops and coming to yoga classes during enforced parking hours.
As a local living near town, I almost exclusively walk or bike downtown, but I have also felt the effects. For the time I
needed a gift this month before running to a birthday party, I had to think "is it worth it to go downtown, or should I just
go to Madonna Plaza?" I went to Madonna Plaza.
I have applied (and possibly received?) the local Palm parking permit. This program is confusing and not the solution to
the parking rates. When I moved here and for years after, parking in the garages was free for an hour for everyone, not
just locals. This is what many other destination tourist towns offer as well.
This is a request to drop the parking rates. I recently visited Capitola, CA and parking was $0.90 an hour. Santa Barbara
offers 75 free minutes before switching to $3.00 per hour. Ventura has an abundance of free parking, as well as spaces
for $1.00-$2.00 with a max of $10.00 a day.
Offering a free hour and then charging between $1.00-$2.00 per hour for garages would be much more appropriate for
SLO. For metered spaces, $1.00-$1.50 an hour (with no free time) is appropriate. The current rates are prohibitive to
businesses, tourists, and locals alike, and there is negative discourse around the rates and the choice to raise the parking
so high. With the upcoming holiday season, I would hope to see these rates drop and become more reasonable.
Thank you,
Emma
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