Half Moon Bay residents set to vote on parking proposal

The pilot proposes to define appropriate parking spaces with “L” and “T” pavement markings to curb the haphazard and unsafe parking of visitors as well as improve safety and access for emergency responders around Kelly Avenue and Poplar Street.

The program, which will cost roughly $9,000, would reduce the total amount of parking spaces and narrow existing travel lanes, also known as a road diet. City staff have said they will try to avoid mailboxes, trailheads and private walkways when striping.    

When the pilot was initially proposed in September, residents raised concerns about the measures it proposes and because some residents felt communication efforts about it were insufficient. So the city suspended the pilot and now its fate will be decided by residents.

An informal vote will be held in the weeks following the Nov. 3 election in which residents fill out a simple ballot and drop it in a secure box, the location for which has yet to be decided. Residents will simply be deciding whether the pilot should move forward on the ballot and not the details of it. If the proposal gets more than 50% of the vote then it will proceed.

If this informal voting process is a success, then it might be used again for future Public Works projects in the city, said John Doughty, that department’s director.

“We’re trying something new,” he said. “We think this might be the wave of the future for us as we talk about other things like speed bumps, closures of streets and other forms of traffic calming.”

Doughty also said of the residents he’s heard from, they’re about evenly split on the proposal.

Other efforts to address parking impacts associated with beach access have been abandoned or are far from becoming a reality. One popular idea — a residential permit parking program — will not be moving forward, councilmembers reiterated during a meeting last week, because such programs are typically not allowed by the Coastal Commission because they restrict beach access.

During that meeting, councilmembers also said the Sheriff’s Office likely will not be increasing parking enforcement activities.

The city is also in early discussions with state parks officials about developing smartphone apps to provide real time parking availability or all coastside beach parking lots. A meeting had been organized, but was postponed due to the wildfires and staffing changes at State Parks.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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