Editor,
We read with some astonishment and amusement a letter from the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce stating that this village entrance plan is a “visionary” one.
In reality, it is 1960s thinking applied to 21st century problems and in three years when completed, it will be even more obsolete.
I assume that Ms Thalman is the same speaker who at that last City Council meeting, urged the council to proceed because the electorate is too easily swayed to vote…really?
This solution will only increase the number of day tourists, fueling a need for more trash pick up, life guard service and police presence in town and give us an unused concrete structure for eight to nine months a year.
We urge the council to put this very expensive non-solution to a vote.
Mark and Cheryl Michelon, Laguna Beach
Doris McQuid and Kristine Thalman raise a poignant issue, is it the city policy of Laguna Beach to provide a parking subsidy to all visitors of Laguna Beach? Are parking fees adequate compensation to pay for congestion, noise, pollution and the urban erosion of Laguna’s residential and downtown streets? The Downtown Specific Plan shows there are 1535 parking spaces downtown, while developers are preparing to send THOUSANDS of beach-goers our direction: Heritage Developments: 10,000 homes, Rancho Mission Viejo: 14,000 homes, Irvine: 100,000 homes by next decade. Now figure 2.3 cars per residence that’s 285,000 MORE cars competing for those 1535 parking spaces. Perhaps now the writers recognize a policy to accommodate beach visitors with car parking offers the wrong incentive, is inadequate, and obsolete.