It continues to happen right under our collective noses, time after time. This time, the so-called community service organizations are using "paid on street parking" to tax citizens against their will and without fair representation in any public forum. I went to the La Jolla Town Council meeting in March to speak out against paid on street parking in La Jolla. I ran some errands just before the meeting. While waiting for my clothes at the tailor, I asked the owner his opinion of paid parking. He stated that, "It's bad for the clothes business. They keep trying to put parking meters in La Jolla, but no one wants them." With that thought, I decided to walk to the businesses next door and get the owners' opinions. Four more business owners in a row were against paid on street parking. At the fourth business, the owner asked if I had a petition that she could sign opposing paid on street parking. I turned over a copy of the Proposed Parking Management Plan for La Jolla and let her sign it. This piqued my curiosity. I crossed the street and visited five more businesses, talked to the owner or manager and let them read my copy of the Proposed Parking Management Plan. Nine out of the 10 businesses were against paid parking. How interesting, I thought.
I visited as many as I could before the meeting and got additional signatures, all opposing paid on street parking. At the meeting, I told the audience and board members that the overwhelming majority of business owners that I spoke with are against paid parking. A board member asked the Promote La Jolla staff member if the business community had been notified of the proposal. They were all sent an e-mail, was her response.
To date, I have 60 signatures from business owners against paid on street parking. Two owners had no opinion and one was for paid parking. I have talked to residents and neighbors. Every resident that I have spoken with is against paid parking. How interesting.
Is Dr. Schoup operating in a vacuum? I think so. Oh! By the way. Did I understand that Dr. Schoup happens to be in the "paid parking" business himself? How interesting.
Recently I attended the La Jolla Parking Advisory Board (LJPAB) meeting. According to the LJPAB, we only need to be educated to realize that we have a parking problem. Because they have been working on the issue for a year and a half, they are the experts and they know what's best for us. Apparently, the business owners and residents are walking around in a fog. We need to be converted to the religion of paid parking.
A few other interesting things came up at this meeting of pay for parking clergy. When the issue of bringing in an additional parking expert for a second opinion came up, the board members thought it would only confuse the citizens and the members dismissed the idea. I guess they have to be careful that the simple minded La Jollans don't get too much information. It could be confusing as well as dangerous for paid on street parking.
The question was asked, "What if there were 200 people in one of LJPAB educational forums and all of them were against paid on street parking?" The response was, "Well we still have 38,000 people that we haven't heard from." It seems to me that they are Hell Bent on making us believers.
One of the members of the LJPAB, who is also a La Jolla Town Council Board member. stated in the meeting that he would resign from the La Jolla Town Council if the business community is proven to be against paid on street parking. How interesting.
Members of the La Jolla Parking Advisory Board, who are promoting paid parking, are themselves in the paid parking business in a round about way. Isn't that a conflict of interest?
We really do need to be educated as to the motives of those who claim to represent the community and the will of the citizens. I would advise the community to attend these meetings. They are very educational, to say the least.
We said, at the ballot, that we didn't want to fund a new Football Stadium and the mayor said that he would not support it. It keeps rearing its ugly head.
We said and continue to say we don't want paid parking in La Jolla. It keeps rearing its ugly head. We will probably get both. How does that work?
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