Downtown Salinas Vibrancy Plan raises concern among business owners
The shops on Main Street draw many to Old Town Salinas, but the city’s plan to reconfigure parking has business owners worried.
“It has been well-known for a long time that because of the high density of businesses downtown that it is difficult to park,” said Jason Cook, owner of Cook’s Photography in Old Town.
The City of Salinas’ Downtown Vibrancy Plan aims to improve circulation, safety and the aesthetic in the area. It will also bring changes to the current parking on on the 200 and 300 blocks of Main Street. Their plan is to trade half of the current angled parking spots for parallel ones.
“I’d like to see the city council put the plan on hold, temporarily, so that more businesses and city residents can be involved with more streamlining of the project,” said Cook.
The city said the project has been in the works for nearly 7 years, and that they have listened to a lot of public feedback.
“Unfortunately it is at a point where much of the design is already in place. Any sort of major change would require things to really, really, really move back several steps,” said District 3 Salinas City Councilman, Steve McShane.
The city said 12 of the current parking spots will be eliminated in the remodel, but they call it a small price to pay.
“This is a real big undertaking. Major infrastructure improvements including lighting, seating, underground utilities, dark fiber internet, and everything else you can imagine, including trees and landscaping,” said McShane.
Still, business owners said the city did not communicate well with the downtown community about the plans. They believe the upgrades will not benefit them more than the loss, and want the city council to reconsider.
“I feel that if they knew how many city residents were concerned about this project, they may want to reevaluate where they’ve gone with it. Whether it costs the city a little more to do it. If we’re going to change Main Street, let’s do it right. Not just half right,” said Cook.
The city plans to start construction in January 2020.
