Downtown parking structure a cure-all Yes, yes,...

Downtown parking structure a cure-all

Yes, yes, yes, a parking structure downtown would not only provide

parking where people want to park, but also eliminate a lot of our

circulation problems because people would not have to drive around

looking for a space. I believe a good-sized parking structure of

about 600 spaces is possible to be built on the very underused block

within Broadway, Ocean, Coast Highway and Beach Street.

I know it’s possible because I designed one five years ago. It

would require the city of Laguna Beach to form a special district on

the above-mentioned block for it to be built.

JACK CAMP

Laguna Beach

Parking on the margins is the way

I believe that you asked for reader comments abut the city’s

handling of a parking issue. This must be a typo since when has this

council ever “handled” a parking issue?

They want to put in a parking structure at one of the busiest

pedestrian and traffic intersections in town, instead of the Act V

lot that was designated for this task. How can that reduce congestion

and improve pedestrian safety?

Jean Spirey, one of the co-founders of Act V, advocated that

festival and employee parking should be remote and with a nice

trolley system. Residents near the Pottery Shack should revisit some

of these old ideas.

Shoppers from the mall also commonly used the Pottery Shack lot

across the street and a valet lot would be a good way to stop such

interlopers. Businesses should be the ones to supply spaces for their

tenants and employees and not the residents of Laguna.

With full-time employees parking at the Lumber Yard or Act V and

with enhanced trolley service during key daytime hours, employee

parking should hopefully not be a significant concern or distraction.

KEN DENTON

Laguna Beach

Edging closer to parking solution

Village Flatlanders filled the front row seats at last week’s

council workshop on neighborhood parking.

There was a good turnout.

The council members came down to “floor level” for a more

comfortable face-to-face that seemed to pay off.

Councilman Steve Dicterow seemed deadly serious with his handling

of the evening, which indicates he is also very serious about finding

solutions to this never ending problem of “parking madness” in

Laguna.

City Manager Ken Frank seemed to squirm when asked to do research

on this. Then he the city council find some money for “outside” help.

The audience did not like the sound of the “consultant” word. The

moans were pretty loud.

There was good input.

There was some negatives, including Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman’s

statement that she had to wear a bag over her head sometimes because

she owns a parking lot downtown.

Our thanks to Dicterow and Councilwoman Jane Egly for their

willingness to tackle this long-festering problem. Especially when so

many continue to say “we don’t know what to do about it.”

We do. Pocket parking would help. Get ride of the grandfather

clause. Revise the heritage code. Glenneyre from Thalia to Calliope.

No more paid consultants. Spend some money in this part of town. It

generates as much revenue as the Downtown.

We don’t like being ignored or treated like the wicked step-sister

anymore than Kinsman likes wearing that bag over her head/

We look forward to the process, remembering the tale of the

“Tortoise and the Hare.”

RIK LAWRENCE

Laguna Beach

Pull back curtains on Montage deal

It is understandable why Athens Group’s John Mansour and former

mayor Kathleen Blackburn continue to rationalize in their latest

“commentaries” how residents did not have to write a single check to

pay for the $8.9 million Treasure Island Park to make it sound almost

as if it were free because the tab would be covered by bed taxes.

But that is like the Wizard of Oz telling Dorothy to pay no

attention to the little man behind the curtain.

Residents may not have written any checks but the Laguna Beach

coffers would have received that $8.9 Million in bed taxes to fill

potholes, repair sewers, apply to the Village Entrance, cover

pensions and fund any number of other projects that still go

unfunded. After approving the building of the lovely Montage mostly

for the benefits of those bed taxes, we must now wait years before

seeing those benefits.

Mansour probably doesn’t want Laguna and his neighbors to think

Athens/Montage took advantage of our council and staff, and Kathleen

Blackburn, who was on the council at the time, probably doesn’t want

Laguna to think the council and staff could have done a much better

job controlling costs. But, no matter how they spin it, because of

the bad contract that was signed and the lack of good oversight by

staff, beautiful resort or not, our coffers will receive $8.9

million, plus interest, less than it should have. That is hard to

swallow, even from the Wizard.

JOHN SELECKY

Laguna Beach