While I agree that cars searching for parking on Main is a problem, I see the larger problem is that Main Street is a destination for “cruisers”. I spend a great deal of time on Main and the pier plaza area. Most of the drivers; old, young, male and female of hot rods, rice rockets, harley’s, tuners, etc. visit to be seen/noticed and make noise. Anyone who visits downtown on a regular basis knows you can’t find parking on Main and to avoid it. Most of those who use it don’t intend on parking there.

One fear (of many associated with the DTSP) is that this problem of noise and traffic will extend onto 5th, 6th, 3rd, etc. The EIR does not analyze any of the REAL noise problems (ear piercing 110 db harley’s and raced out supper cars without mufflers, etc.) that will absolutely extend beyond Main.

Remote parking as suggested in the DTSP could help with major events – but the people who live in the area’s where the remote parking lots were proposed should have been notified of the EIR and DTSP – they were not.

Section 5.6.3. of the recently approved Downtown Specific Plan has some ideas worth exploring. For instance, a well designed permit system in residential areas can prevent parking encroachment by visitors in residential neighborhoods during the summer (such a system must be well designed to address concerns I raised about permits in the Planning Commission meeting). Shuttle access from remote parking lots can reduce parking demands during major events (H.B. Surfing Open) and hot summer weekends. Some underutilized parking lots and parcels in the downtown can be used for visitor parking on a pay basis on evenings and weekends. Having downtown employees park in underutilized parking garages (like Plaza Almeria) or the aforementioned parcels can reduce parking congestion on streets around the downtown. Once constructed, the 1776 parking spaces in Pacific City can help alleviate the downtown parking problem, particularly if there is a good shuttle service between the downtown and Pacific City.

Much of the traffic congestion on Main Street is caused by people searching for parking or backing out of parking spaces on Main Street. I know the downtown businesses have opposed this, but we need to rethink having parking on Main Street south of Orange. Most visitors already walk some distance to get to a business on Main because the chances of securing a parking space is very small even during the off-season. Getting visitors to park in parking garages, beach parking lots (except during the summer), and remote lots serviced by shuttles instead of on Main Street can do much to reduce the congestion on that street.

Here is why the current Council would never do that. The In-Lieu spots are actually a bargaining chip used in negotiations. The City will often allow an In-Lieu fee to be paid, but not collect it all at once. They will often allow it to be paid over a number of years. They do this right now since for the most part they know it will never go toward anything.

To truly make the program function, the money should be held on an area by area basis and have a requirement that the money be spent within a limited period of time from being paid. And the money should be paid before the Certificate of Occupancy is granted. That way In-Lieu money paid in Downtown would stay in Downtown and the money would come in around the same time as the cars the business would generate. If the money cannot be expended within the time period then the City should no accept In-Lieu payments.

It will be interesting to see what ideas are out there, especially from the Council candidates.