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SLO parking, one hour is not enough

November 9, 2023

OPINION by PETE EVANS

The San Luis Obispo City Council decided to provide immediate relief from the new parking rates. Starting Nov. 23, parking downtown will be free of charge in the following ways:

  • For one hour every day in the public parking structures
  • Every Sunday in the public parking structures
  • During the annual downtown holiday parade starting at 6:00 PM (both on-street and in the structures.

These free parking options will be available at least through June 30, 2025.

Just crumbs thrown to the peons to get us to shut up. Our local businesses will continue to suffer under the boot of the high costs of parking and reduced hours of free parking that we used to enjoy.

If you are unhappy with this less than token response to the public outcry, email the City Council with this slogan in the subject line: One hour is not enough!


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Voters need to start holding the local leaders and politicians accountable in this county when they ignore their concerns if they want things to change. This week a township in michigan recalled 5 gop board members for approving a Chinese company gotion Inc to recievw millions in tax incentives to operate in their township. I wish voters hear would hold office holders to the same accountability regardless of their political party.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/5-michigan-township-officials-recalled-chinese-owned-gotion-project%3famp


29

I knew a Us Patton holder at Zurn Paso, who passed a way a while ago, say one of his regrets was HANDING China their data to manufacture; China does not have intellectual property laws; that’s a good and bad thing; good if you want cheap labor.


it is scary; construction around here benefits almost no one locally. Your concerns are real. People sell out Ethics for Dollars. Mansions are a prime example.

Paso only Develops for out of Town Richie’s. How any wineries around here hire Illegal Labor?


“All of them. Slo county farmers; mostly conservative; Shut Down our local Border Control to prevent slaps on the wrist- Cal Poly Socio Economics teacher Mr Rodriguez. Stanford law student graduate.”


China’s belt and road is a joke, unless you are Rich. America does the same thing. We Love to have slave labor abroad. Where do your clothes come from, Do you Give a Shit, I do. I only buy second hand or from Unionized labor abroad.


2

The council already mandated the fee raised to $5 an hour in the Summer of 2025. This “freebie” hour is smoke and mirrors.


40

Walk, ride a bike, take a bus, carpool, so many options.

Shockingly there is more than one way….


-85

Just a thought…..Some people live outside the city limits where walking,bike riding,carpooling,your neighbors are acres away and there is no public transportation.


10

Quit asking for government handouts and subsidies. One hour is what we had before, I imagine the simplistic complaints will continue until user fees are replaced by taxes. Someone has to pay for parking, if people who drive downtown don’t pay for their parking it falls onto the taxpayer. I believe in fiscal responsibility, it sounds like Evans doesn’t. Sad!


-62

Most people are unaware the businesses and property owners downtown are already paying for parking. They are assessed each year on their business license through a business improvement tax district formed in 1975. Those funds are supposed to subsidize PARKING and promote downtown. Unfortunately, the Downtown Association has hijacked and squandered that money for their operations. It’s time to dissolve the weak and ineffective Downtown Association, redirect the assessment funds to the City’s Parking Enterprise Fund and lower the parking rates. Then, and only then will our small businesses have the opportunity to thrive again.


54

You make a fair point that one of the Downtown Association interests should be parking, I didn’t listen to the whole 6 hour meeting the other night, so I’m not sure if they took a stance.


I see things from your perspective, but also see them from mine – I don’t want to have to pay for parking through taxes or fees unless I’m parking downtown, I also don’t want downtown business to have to pay either. I believe that as our downtown grows, we will need more spaces, a new structure provides a lot of new spaces while also allowing the possibility of giving street parking spaces to businesses to expand their operations. Building a new structure costs money, and raising rates is the only way to do it. Downtown Association can’t pay for it.


I don’t know the detailed budget of the Downtown Association, maybe you’re right and they need fixing, but I can at least say that they do a lot of promotion and event stuff (Farmers Market) we would all be sad to see go if you dissolved them, lots to lose just for a reduction in parking fees.


-10

LB, have you forgotten that the voters in SLO already agreed to tax themselves in 2020 by adopting the Measure G-20 sales tax increase by 1.5% for capital improvements? A parking garage is a capital improvement. Charging $3 to $4 per hour for parking is essentially another tax on top of Measure G-20. The City is engaging in big government greed by creating parking as an ever increasing profit center at the expense of the vitality of downtown San Luis Obispo. The City needs to start living within its means rather than continuing to raise taxes and fees ad nauseum.


9

G-20 is simply for other things, not parking. The City has a separate parking fund that is distinct from the general fund budget, they talk about this in most of the press releases. You couldn’t use G-20 money even if you wanted. Raising rateswhile going through inflation, building a new structure and sustaining the current structures, particularly after 2 COVID years of zero revenue, is living within means.


0

Whoa LB, hold your horses. I guess you are not paying attention and so have to resort to throwing insults instead of following the situation.

So far the others who cared to post here agree that the high fees and other issues are damaging downtown-how fiscally responsible is that? When a business thrives it pays more in taxes, less if not. So we pillage the shoppers who then stay away and our businesses suffer, and some go under. Is that the sort of fiscal responsibility you support?


20

Hi Pete, sorry I got a little heated, i had a rough morning and I let my mood seep into my writing.


We both care about the same thing but I think we are on different pages. When I am talking about fiscal responsibility, I specifically am referring to government spending, if we were to just keep the fees at their old rates the Parking Enterprise would be deep in the red, particularly as the city is starting the construction of a new parking structure, one which we all agree is unfortunately too expensive (thanks COVID and inflation) but also might agree is something we need long term as the downtown grows. I don’t want an insolvent government which racks up debt, if expenditures have gone up, so should revenue. I also think it’s fiscally responsible for people who drive downtown and park their cars to help pay for infrastructure that supports parking cars downtown; that seems fair.


But you might say that by raising rates we decrease visitors, crashing businesses and sales tax, ironically making us worse off than before. While that does happen sometimes, government regulation and taxes are largely too burdensome in this state and cause all sorts of issues, this is not one of those cases. The small 2.5% of sales tax that goes to the City pays for other services and isn’t going to be able to make up the capital you need for a new structure (someone would need to spend more than $100 an hour downtown and then allocate ALL of that tax to parking to make up parking user fees.


I understand the rates are difficult for businesses; we may look back on this episode in history and conclude that it was economically irresponsible to raise rates in order to build a new parking structure. But also initial data seems to show that trips have been consistent since the rate change and while no one likes paying more money, it’s not significantly affecting business – it was really low before, now it’s just a little high. Negative anecdotal evidence is prolific here, but from my eyes the downtown still seems quite busy. I personally go downtown just as often (although I admit I’m more prone to carpooling or biking since the gates staying closed past 6 has been a real nuisance).


-8

The businesses & property owners have been paying for parking for 48 years through the business improvement district tax assessment. You have to ask yourself, where’s all that money?


8

How about something simple – pay as you EXIT a parking structure instead on upon ENTERING – you know as a logical person would do it.


48

NOT ENOUGH!


32

It’s not enough because staff controlled the narrative and predetermined outcome. Even before public comment started, each Council member told the audience what they would support. Be dammed with listening to the public first. Once again, staff pulled the puppet strings on this weak Council. Vote ‘‘em out!


57

Council does not understand what it takes to have a successful retail, restaurant and hospitality commercial district. The basics, 1) visibility; 2) ease of access; 3) convenient parking. You don’t want to be punishing your customers with parking charges and fines.

Look at a typical neighborhood shopping center. The satellite retail and end caps have the highest rent, the inline retail rents for 40% less. Why? Sales volume. The end caps and satellites have better visibility and easier access.

Accommodating vehicles is a must. Can’t be at war with how your customers get their purchases home.


34

This council doesn’t understand anything about governing. For all but one, who had some experience, this is full-on student council type governing — do what you want to whom you want to do it to. No reality there. Just do what you want. So, since they know nothing, staff leads them by the nose. You know, like staff decides what’s important, and since council worships staff and are impotent without staff, the council rubber stamps whatever staff wants. The entire parking fiasco was concocted by staff, and council rubber stamped. This city lacks a city council capable of thinking things through based on smarts and experience. It will only get worse as long as it’s like this.


12

Ricky2 is correct,definitely some CP thinking here

just raise the fees and they will pay.This way of reasoning may work on a college bound crowd but not downtown SLO where there are to many choices elsewhere and people will choose to go somewhere else.


2

Downtown SLO is dead to me. The crazy bike lanes choked me out already. They want us to pay to experience the bike lane nightmare? No thank you. SLO City Council will surely find their way to destruction.


6

But what do you want the city to do?, reduce the outrageous salaries and compensation? Yeah, thats not going to happen, so how else will the city pay for the salaries and be able to give out raises?


44
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