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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-25-2018 - Item 4 - Cooper (3)To: San Luis Obispo Planning Commission, Doug Davidson & Kyle Bell Re:Draft White Paper – Re-Envisioning Personal Mobility From:Allan Cooper, San Luis Obispo Date:March 24, 2018 Honorable Chair Stevenson and Commissioners - Predicating future car parking supply (see Table 1 “Zoning Regulation Parking Options/Exceptions”) on the targeted mode split of 50% auto trip usage, 20% bicycle trip usage, 18% walking (or motorcycle, golf cart, Segway, scooter or skateboard usage) and 12% transit usage assumes that nearly all 6,700 residents holding jobs in San Luis Obispo, all 14,300 Cal Poly and Cuesta College students living off campus and in San Luis Obispo and all of the remaining 19,300 residents who neither work in San Luis Obispo (but may be working in outlying communities) nor are students will be relying on bicycles, walking or public transit to get around. The sum total for this group is 40,300. Relying on automobile usage will be the 24,300 workers (source: SLOCOG) commuting daily into San Luis Obispo from outlying communities, the 2,700 transient occupants who will be spending a night or two in a motel or hotel in San Luis Obispo, the hundreds more staying in Airbnb’s, the approximately 1,100 out-of-town shoppers and day visitors, the 5,700 residents 65 years of age or older who may have mobility issues due to age or the 1,570 pre-school children, an unknown number of residents who are employed in outlying communities and the 3,950 Cal Poly and Cuesta College students living in outlying communities (source: Cal Poly Masterplan DEIR). The sum total for this group is 39,320. So roughly follows the 50-50 split. What is not taken into account here is San Luis Obispo’s aggressive promotion of tourism, new hotel/ motel construction and the growth in hospitality-related, low-paying jobs. Unlike the current cap on housing production, our daytime population is growing far in excess of 1% per year and this will only increase our reliance on the use of the automobile. Secondly, where does the projected increase in service vehicle/truck factor in (i.e., Amazon, hospitality, special event, restaurant, bar-related and personal service deliveries)? Thirdly, current statistics would indicate that San Luis Obispo residents may not be so easily weaned of the convenience of personalized transportation particularly as electric powered cars become more affordable. Ninety percent of all households (17,157) in San Luis Obispo presently own 2 cars or more (7.8% own 5 or more cars!). In 2015, 67% of commuters drove alone, 7.8% carpooled, 7.5% walked, 3% used public transit and 9% bicycled to work . Even if the total number of vehicle trips decline1 over time, personalized transportation is essential for family-related grocery shopping, shopping for home improvements, medical emergencies and weekend excursions. And fourthly, the Zoning Regulation Parking Options/Exceptions found in Table 1 apply to all new development. It is my belief that for the see: https://datausa.io/geo/san-luis-obispo-ca/#category_transportation1 Received 03/26/2018 Item #4 reasons stated above, all hospitality and commercial development as well as multi-generational housing should be exempted from these provisions. Thank you!