Opinion: Losing parking spaces a hard sell in San Diego

Fifth Avenue between Broadway and L Street.

Why can’t the city hear the shop owners as they beg the city to stop eliminating parking?

July 18, 2021 6:15 AM PT

Re “Will reducing parking spaces transform San Diego, other cities for the better?” (July 11): Where does the city get these cockamamie ideas? Getting rid of parking not only hurts the businesses but also drivers. Why can’t the city hear the shop owners as they beg the city to stop eliminating parking? I for one will not be getting on my bike and riding across town to patronize a store that has no parking — I’ll just go somewhere else that does. The city has spent years and millions of dollars putting in bike lanes, which few people have or will use.

Rather than wasting money eliminating parking, why not use the money to fix our crumbling streets? The city doesn’t have the money to fix our streets, yet it has the money to eliminate parking? When will the city hire people who can make smart decisions that benefit the masses, not the few?

Mark Doering
Bay Park

So far, not seeing a lot of bikes in bike lanes

Re “Don’t sugarcoat the details on bike lane viability” (July 15): We have spent millions of dollars on the bike lane projects all over our city. In my neighborhood, car lanes have been reduced and bike lanes are all around. This would be wonderful if I would ever see any bikers using them.

I drive constantly on the main avenues: Balboa Avenue, Genesee Avenue, Morena Boulevard, Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, etc. Hardly ever do I see a bicycle. And now North Park and the Downtown businesses are the sacrificial lambs for accommodating the virtually non-existing bikers. This is a pipe dream — good for ecology — but totally not realistic in view of the millions spent.

If this continues, the City Council has the responsibility to prove to us all that we are getting our millions’ worth. Good luck with that.

Anja Schoenbeck
Clairemont