HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/14/2024 Item 4a, Mullen
Laura Mullen <
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Subject:Council Meeting May 14, 2024 Agenda Item 4.a.
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Dear Mayor Stewart, Vice Mayor Pease, and Council Members Shoresman, Marx, and Francis,
Speaking on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of HumanKind Fair Trade on Monterey
Street and as an active participant on the the Parking and Transportation committee for
Downtown SLO, I highly enourage your support of Option B, the lowest parking fee option
outlined by Dixon. While initially a proponent of the first hour free in the structures, that didn't
seem to alleviate the negatives generated by the buzz about downtown's high parking fees in
the first quarter of the year. After experiencing an average of a 10 percent decline in sales
since November, we at HumanKind believe the lowest rate possible is the better option. While
we don't attribute the decline soley to the higher parking rates, it certainly didn't help,
especially with our loyal local customers.
In your deliberations on this issue, could you please take into consideration as well...
Any measures that simplify the parking payment process. There are too many
payment options, and the gateless Palm Street structure is entirely too confusing for
most people. Please 1) Reduce the number of apps to one, and 2) Revert to the gated
techniques in the structures that operate under the "play then pay" model.
Expand on-street parking limits from 2 hours to 3 hours.
Reduce structure permit rates to $45/month and maintain 10-hour on-street permit
rates to $60/month, while making more permits available for purchase and renewal
online.
While the Cultural Arts parking structure is important to the growth and vitality of downtown,
we need to balance other factors as well. This option, Option B, seems to keep the city's
Parking Enterprise Fund sustainable and also contributes to a downtown where
everyone...locals included... feels welcome and wants to make the effort to frequent.
Thanks for your efforts in keeping Downtown vital and viable.
1
Laura B Mullen
President, Board of Directors
HumanKind Fair Trade
805-801-2214
HumanKind Fair Trade
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