Parking Meters On Hold In P.G?

At the July 18 city council meeting many people spoke opposing putting parking meters at Lovers Point or Central/Eardley Avenues. A merchant pointed out that the current 2 hour parking spaces are not checked by the parking enforcement officers and that rolling the spaces back to 90 minutes and adding more enforcement would be better to turn over parking and increase ticket revenue. Great idea . . though many of the downtown merchants that take up spaces all day will need to be more active to avoid tickets.

Parking Victorian Corner Ho Parking Favaloro Truck

Parking Meters On Hold In PG?

The Parking Meters May Multiply

The idea is controversial in a town that prides itself on being “America’s Last Hometown.”

Those opposed to adding parking meters downtown, at Lovers Point and along parts of Central Avenue said it will take away from the city’s charm. “I don’t want it in the downtown area. It would lose all its ambiance,” store owner Dee Moore said.Others said they worry shoppers won’t want to pay for parking in front of downtown shops.

 

Parking Meters Sensor Loop

The so called ambiance was lost long ago, chopped up, sold, painted over and resold. It was replaced by by phony charm that requires sandwich board signs to direct you to the merchandise you just cannot live without. Bah! Anything worth spending money on should stand on it’s own.

For one, the meters may increase the the number of spaces available as cheap merchants quit parking their cars all day long in prime spacesVictorian Corner Ho
Though I think we would need 3000 meters to make $6,000,000. There’s reportedly 100 meters by the ATC that bring in $1,800 per year per meter.

The Parking Meters May Multiply

Business Group Requests Unlimited Parking

Minutes of the Traffic Commission – November 14, 2006

One of the concerns was that employees would take advantage of the no enforcement policy and park their vehicles in front of the establishments where they are employed.
Commission encourages the BID group to . . come back to us next July or August with a plan to implement the extended parking for shoppers and indicate they are going to control employee parking.

Nothing new here – there appears to be little or no enforcement of the 2 hour limits already. Numerous commercial vehicles and personal cars from store owners and workers park all day with no need to move.

Hazaras parks it’s van around Lighthouse and Forest all day.

Parking Hazara-20min

Victorian Corner workers take up so many parking places and the loading zone all day . . .

Parking Victorian Corner Cars

That delivery trucks cannot even use the “loading zone” set aside for the purpose and spill over to red zones and crosswalks

Crosswalk Awareness Month Vc2
Business Group Requests Unlimited Parking

Parking Meters On The Avenue?

Controversial article – it started when a letter from the editor in the Hear-Old ranted about the police not enforcing parking at businesses on Lighthouse Avenue. Though that writer was incorrect about the police involvement (Nob Hill and Longs Drugs parking lots are private property – enforcement is up to the property owners), it brought to my attention that parking limits were not being enforced or being selectively enforced in PG. It appeared that businesses owners and their employees were taking up a large amount of parking spaces on the Avenue and side streets where time limited parking is posted. It’s not hard to see – many of the cars have the store names on them, they can be seen every day, often in the same parking spaces.

Here’s the Favaloro’s GMC truck right in front of the (now out of business) restaurant.Parking Favaloro Truck

Later the same truck, now minus it’s door signs is always seen on Grand just below Lighthouse:
Parking Favaloro Truck 2

And again with the Favaloros Mitsubishi that is always downtown:Parking Favaloro Truck 3

In December they hid it over behind the closed down theater. Would they choose to park in any of the 24 hour spots in the lot? No, it’s in a 2 hour spot.

Parking Favaloros Truck

The Favaloros must also have this Suburban.\

Parking Favaloro Suburban

This Mitsubishi once sported signs on it’s doors for Cafe Ariana. Since the first posting, the signs have been removed.

Parking Favaloro Mits

In the same block is the Victorian Corner. The streets are full of cars from that business too. This Chevy truck is always parked on Fountain:

Parking Victorian Corner Chevy 060622

Also seen is the Victorian Corner Tahoe:

Parking Victorian Corner Ho

And the Victorian Corner Jag:

Parking Victorian Corner Jag

In the next block is the Oh Flowers van:

Parking Oh Flowers Van 1

They have since closed and move to a lower rent area. Still the same? Yep, still the same.

Parking Oh Flowers Van 2

Also we have the Bratty Real Estate office. It’s workers take the 20 minute spots with a pickup truck:

Parking Bratty Truck

and a Mustang:

Parking Bratty Stang

Grand Avenue Art Works – did they champion to have the curb in front of their place painted yellow so people might see them? If that’s not enough, they borrow a tactic from Cafe Ariana – magnet signs on the car doors making a parked rolling billboard.Parking Grand Ave Art Works

Hazaras Magic Carpets has a van that is sometimes in the diagonals:

Hazaras Parked On LHA 100424

Or over on Forest where they go outside and smoke:
Parking Hazara-20min

Chili Great Chili parks it’s van in the center – outside the defined parking spaces, making it hard for emergency vehicles to navigate the narrow street.

Parking Chilivan

Then the Chili Great Chili pickup is in the 20 minute zone:

Parking Chili Truck

Just south of Harzara is St Vinnies. City Councilman Ron Schenk works there. Parks his Jeep in front during campaign time, better advertising.

Schenk Jeep

Also on the campaign trail is Susan Goldbeck. She cannot find the energy to carry her political paraphernalia back to her car, so she double parks. Blocking the handicap spot.Goldbeck Double Park

The post office is also a place the cops could rake in the tickets. This BMW driver can afford to park in the red zone:

Parking Beemer Redzone

So can the Cadillac owner that takes up two half-spaces:

Parking Caddy Over Lines

The point made is that it appears that parking enforcement is lax. If we don’t want meters to feed all day, get the parking patrol out and write some tickets.

Parking Meters On The Avenue?

Business Slow? Blame The Streetlights

Two damaged Victorian-era streetlights in Pacific Grove have residents and business owners worried about safety and possible loss of business.

Former Mayor Jeanne Byrne said some on the City Council ran for office on the issue of fixing city facilities, including streetlights.

“We are losing businesses downtown, and having things like this doesn’t encourage new businesses to invest,” said Byrne, chairwoman of the downtown business improvement district.

Streetlight Original

The light in front of the gas station-turned produce stand is not of Victorian heritage, it’s a 1995 version that replaced the nice tall 60s streetlights (that REALLY lit the street). One point is the driver that broke it is liable. Other point is that the property where it’s in front of really does not need 4 wide driveways – it’s not a gas station anymore. PG can eliminate 3 of them. (that would give Victorian Corner and Favaloros owners/employees more all day parking spaces!!)

At least shorten the driveway and get the post away from traffic

Streetlight Less Driveway

Or move it up to the corner with the bench, bus shelter, trash can & sickly tree.

Streetlight Moved

Business Slow? Blame The Streetlights