Editor,
Now that members of the City Council have decided that we have a major traffic congestion problem, something needs to be done. They have ordered the city manager to come up with answers to the problem.
If it wasn’t so pathetic, the council’s demand would be laughable. For these are longtime elected officials whose lack of vision and long-standing failures to act has exacerbated the situation. Traffic throughout the city has worsened every year for at least the last decade. Yet the council has ignored the problem and their lack of vision has transformed this small quiet city to a regional party mecca.
With every new bar, roof top lounge and nightclub they approved, the council has transformed this city and devastated our artist community. Their vision has failed to plan for traffic and parking for the new daily visitors who come to party and enjoy the beauty of our small town.
Laguna Beach residents through their property taxes fund over 90 percent of the city’s budget. The city staff and council members can’t stop congratulating each other on Laguna’s strong financial condition.
Day tourists flock to our beautiful city but they are not enriching it. They are only costing the local taxpayers money. They use our police, fire and maintenance services. Day tourist aren’t leaving cash, they only leave us their trash.
Laguna Beach was when I moved here 20 plus years ago a quiet, clean, beautiful small town with a good school system. I never planned to witness the systematic erosion of our quality of life.
It is time the residents who pick up the tab decide the future course of our city. The business owners in our town, other than the major hotels, are insignificant to the funding of our city budget. Less day tourism in our city will not affect our city budget. But it will lessen the traffic and eliminate city service costs. The quality of life for our residents should dictate the actions of the city council.
I am unsure what the city manager’s conclusion to the traffic crisis will be. I do know that a clear vision and plan to increase the quality of life for our residents will do much to elevate the traffic problem. If the city councils would have taken a residents’ first approach we would still be able to get across town in 10 minutes.
Jeffrey Kaplan, Laguna Beach
Brilliant. Thank you, Jeffrey.
We know precisely how manager Pietig will manage Laguna’s traffic congestion, in a townhall meeting monologue he told us. Place rent-a-cops on every street corner, Re-apply the trolley service North and South, hire a consulting company, allow traffic congestion to dissuade driving naturally, use traffic alerts to appease car-junkies. More monologue here: https://lagunastreets.blogspot.com/2016/05/laguna-town-hall-meeting-on-traffic-and.html