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!