Residents and business owners in San Luis Obispo waved a hypothetical magic wand to troubleshoot costly parking problems hampering visits to downtown.
“I think if I had a magic wand, I would have a recall petition to get rid of every [SLO] City Council member,” Hemp Shak and Euphoria co-owner Steven Wick announced to applause at a Feb. 13 community meeting in the SLO Library.
Wick and a handful of other residents participated in the “magic wand” exercise prompted by parking consultant Julie Dixon, the founder of Dixon Resources Unlimited, hired by the city.
“If you had a parking magic wand that you could use to change, fix, or improve anything about parking in San Luis Obispo, what would you use it for?” Dixon asked the crowd of 30 people.
The locals gathered in the library to share their thoughts with city staff about downtown SLO’s parking rates and services. Many of them, like Wick, expressed their disappointment with the SLO City Council for doubling downtown parking rates to $4 an hour. Dixon noted their comments and suggestions as part of a parking rate study, which will examine the revenues and costs associated with operating the parking program.
Usually parking rate studies take place every five years, according to Deputy Director of Mobility Services Jennifer Rice, but city staff is conducting it sooner because SLO secured the funding for a fourth downtown parking garage.
Last July, the City Council raised downtown parking rates to demonstrate that the revenue collected from the increased fees could pay the debt incurred from financing the new parking structure. Capital Improvement Program Administrative Manager Madeline Kacsinta told New Times that by the end of August 2023, the city had sold bonds worth $45.8 million, secured $47 million for the new garage, and received a construction bid of a little more than $41 million—$3.5 million below the initial construction cost estimate. With these funds, the city issued a call for the study to make sure parking rates mirrored the needs of community members, according to city officials.
The study kicked off with a public survey about parking that went online on Feb. 9. SLO’s 2022 parking study drew in less than 300 survey responses total, Dixon said at the meeting. The recent 2024 survey amassed 1,395 comments within five days. The online survey closes on March 8.
People can log their responses on communityfeedback.opengov.com/portals/sanluisobispoca/Issue_13598. They can email questions and additional comments to slo@dixonresourcesunlimited.com.
The Feb. 13 gathering marked the beginning of community meetings between parking officials and the public. The city also held an online version of that meeting on Feb. 14 at noon.
Participants provided Dixon and city staff with a slew of ways they’d change parking services. Blackwater owner Maryalice Hamilton said she wants reduced parking rates on the streets that include an hour of free parking. She recommended better signage and lighting, safer parking structures, and even free parking all day on Sundays “everywhere in San Luis Obispo.” Currently, car-bound downtown SLO visitors enjoy an hour of free parking in structures and free parking in structures on Sundays through June 30, 2025.
“I reside in Atascadero, so driving for me for the past 25 years is critical. I don’t have a vote in City Council … even though I pay very high taxes through my business,” Hamilton said. “If I had a magic wand, I would recall all the City Council members as well.”
Other recommendations from attendees detailed reducing parking meter charges to $2 an hour, the first hour free in garages followed by an hourly rate of $2, and free parking after 6 p.m.
Dixon and city staff are also poised to collect inventory and parking occupancy data. The data will be collected in three-hour increments at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. Some residents asked Dixon to also collect data at 7 p.m. or a later time to show a more accurate snapshot. Community members will get to weigh in on the data during the second round of public comment. Following an engagement with the SLO Chamber of Commerce, city staff will present the final parking study report to the City Council in April.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of challenges in my career,” Dixon said with a laugh at the meeting. “You just have a lot of them in one place.” Δ
This article appears in Feb 15-25, 2024.
