HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Pittman
Lyla Pittman <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Parking Concerns
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City Council of San Luis Obispo,
My name is Lyla Pittman. I am 16 years old, a junior at San Luis High, and have been working at Urbane Cafe downtown
for about a year now.
When I got my license, parking definitely became a primary concern for me, and I was very pleased to see that it is now
open for discussion and wanted to take this opportunity to reach out about my concerns.
The current parking situation, just for general downtown activities, makes downtown very inaccessible. I saw on
Instagram that it is encouraged to walk or bike to avoid parking problems downtown, but these options aren't available
to everyone-- some people may not own a bike or be able to buy one, some may live too far to be able to walk, and
others are simply handicapped or elderly and driving is their only option. Although SLO offers public transportation such
as our buses, it takes away the independence that people feel from being able to drive themselves places. With the cost
of parking, many people simply can't afford to park for a few hours to enjoy what downtown has to offer-- this is killing
local business. I recently went to Los Angeles to tour UCLA, and I found it very interesting that to park in downtown LA
the daily maximum is $9, while our daily maximum to park is $12.
As I mentioned before, I am 16 and working at Urbane Cafe. I've been able to drive myself to work for about 6 months
now, and parking downtown is an unfortunate part of owning a driver's license. Of course, I only make barely above
minimum wage, and it frustrates me that I have to pay the daily maximum for a 4/5 hour shift, which is nearly an hour's
worth of work for me-- gas is already expensive enough. The old parking policies were significantly more accessible,
especially for workers-- first hour free, $1.50 per hour, and free parking after 9:00 p.m. Now, parking fees have doubled,
and workers who get off work after the parking structure's closing time have to pay the full-day fee on select nights
(which happen to be the nights I typically work, Thursday and Saturday). I also saw on Instagram the variety of parking
passes available-- but immediately I knew none of them were affordable for me, and I can't be the only one who thinks
they're not affordable.
San Luis Obispo is a fun, beautiful town that people love to come and visit. Our downtown has a great variety of shops
that appeal to a variety of people, but now it's become very inaccessible due to the parking situation and on nights I
work I've noticed that downtown has become increasingly empty. Commenters under Mayor Stewart's post about
parking address similar concerns to mine. The current parking situation is making downtown SLO very inaccessible,
therefore harming local businesses and workers as well.
Thank you for opening this topic up to local voices!
Sincerely,
Lyla Pittman
Junior at SLOHS
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