Submitted by Jim Newhall
CTID and our City Council just approved $40,000 for a summertime valet parking service, using 100 spaces in the B of A [Bank of America] parking structure. Users will also pay a $5 fee. What could possibly be wrong with this program?:
- CTID claims the valet parking is designed to benefit nearby hotels, restaurants and theaters, but not residents.
- The $40K funding will primarily benefit tourists and the businesses they patronize. It will provide few if any benefits to residents, as many avoid the downtown area during summer months due to excessive vehicle/pedestrian traffic and over-crowded businesses.
- If this parking service is necessary, it means: (1) the City has permitted too much commercial development in a confined area; (2) the City has not mandated levels of on- or off-street parking commensurate with that development; and (3) the City and businesses continuously encourage unlimited, year round over-tourism, to the detriment of our residents, which floods the town with traffic and consumes all available parking spaces.
- CTID claims the valet parking will be “on-street parking space neutral”, when it will actually reduce metered parking by three spaces.
- If visitors pay $5 for up to two hours of parking, from 11 AM to 11 PM, those 100 spaces could generate at least $276,000 from June through August. So why does the City need to subsidize B of A, or their parking vendor, when they stand to earn $92,000 per month?
- And why is our City is spending $40,000 of taxpayer (resident) funding to subsidize tourist parking?
- And if the B of A parking structure is open for tourists to self-park their vehicles, why should taxpayers subsidize VALET parking primarily for tourists?
I am not anti-business, I’m a business owner. I’m also not anti-City, I’ve loved Coronado for 65+ years. But I am growing disgusted with: (1) the ever-increasing, unlimited, year round over-tourism in Coronado which is quickly sacrificing our village ambiance; and (2) the paucity of pro-resident decisions and abundance of pro-business decisions by our City; (3) coupled with obscene spending in favor of tourists, day visitors, beach goers, conventioneers, commuters, BBMAC clients, bicycle clubs, concert goers, absentee boat owners, etc.
How can the City justify $40K for valet parking (every summer?), $500K for tourist signage, and millions for city-wide bike lanes and a beach bike path…at the same time they boosted our residential sewer fees due to lack of funding? The same argument applies to the CTID/City-funded free summer shuttle – clearly designed to benefit summer tourism. Simply put, our City is highly addicted to acquiring and spending every dollar available, and far too many priorities seem to defy the concept of “residents first.”
With our City’s penchant for consultants, studies and contracts, I believe it’s time for Coronado to prioritize some taxpayer funding to commission an unbiased outside study of our tourism – past, present and future. Such a study could, and should, determine tourism pros and cons; costs and benefits; impacts to our way of life in terms of traffic, parking, pedestrians, Airbnb, VRBO, capacities for services/infrastructure/events; appropriate levels for the future; how much we should (or should not) advertise Coronado, and where and how; appropriate funding levels for CTID and Visitor Info Center; optimum TOT level; whether to reinstate bridge tolls, etc. Just like major corporations perform “right-sizing” studies for staffing, there has to be an appropriate level of tourism for Coronado. I submit that level has already been exceeded, and it simply cannot remain “unlimited.” Dr. Beach didn’t do us any favors in 2012, and now the big four hotels, restaurants, CUSD and other profiteers are killing the golden goose, enabled by our City and various committees.
If you too are concerned about over-tourism in Coronado, please take time to email your thoughts and ideas to Council members at:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Submitted by Jim Newhall
5-18-2016
