San Carlos merchants seek compromise for Laurel Street closure 

In the early summer months of the COVID-19 crisis when indoor business capacity was greatly reduced the San Carlos City Council established a street closure program along parts of Laurel Street, San Carlos Avenue and Arroyo Street. With closed roads, merchants were permitted to expand operations into vacant parking stalls which mostly benefited restaurants. 

But with indoor capacity now at 100%, Taleghani said it’s time for the city to begin prioritizing a compromise that will allow retailers to benefit from the state’s reopening as restaurants have with outdoor dining. 

Ultimately, Taleghani said he’d like to see the city reopen barricaded stalls to cars that are going unused by businesses, allowing more parking for potential customers. Alternatively, he would be in support of the city opening the blocks during normal business hours and closing them in the evenings during the dinner rush. Without action, he fears his clients will turn to more convenient locations for their dry cleaning as they return to the office and other outings. 

“We definitely are doing better than we did before because things are opening up but we’re definitely not close to where we were because we don’t have a place for people to park,” Taleghani said. “Now that they’re going back [to work] I need to make sure they have a way to … get to us and use our services.”

Anette Grostad, owner of Nordic Nest at 781 Laurel St., said she fully supported the street closure program when first implemented and still enjoys having outdoor dining as an option. Increased business at the restaurants brought new faces to her home design shop while her online presence catered to those shopping from home. 

But not all merchants in the area have survived, raising concerns that dwindling options will push business away, she said. With fewer stores and lost parking, Grostad said the area is in a losing competition with malls that often offer floors of parking stalls and numerous storefronts. 

“We’re OK for right now but the more shops that close around us the less shoppers we get coming down,” Grostad said. “Shops depend on people who do regular purchases, not impulse buying.” 

By opening the roads while maintaining restaurant parklets, the business could continue benefiting from new customers while catering to the needs of regulars, she said. 

Long treks and lost clientele 

Grostad and Taleghani also disputed assertions that parking is plentiful in the area with Taleghani noting large delivery trucks often block alleys into rear parking lots and restaurant customers claim spots for hours including those limited to 10 minutes. Calling people “creatures of habit,” he suggested the public will also go to retailers where parking is more convenient rather than extending their routine in search for a parking spot. 

Grostad noted walking long distances may not be possible for seniors and those with mobility issues and said busy El Camino Real is unsafe for families with small children. 

“We need to be able to have our customers access our shops. It’s not so much that the street needs to completely open but more that it needs to have some traffic through,” Grostad said. 

Similarly, Mitchel Bearg has owned and operated Bow Wow Meow, a pet grooming and retail shop on the 700 block of Laurel Street, for roughly 30 years. Though business is steady, Bearg noted his services require customers to transport their pets of varying sizes from their vehicles to the shop, a challenge during the street closures. 

Echoing Taleghani, Bearg said the lost parking and resulting long treks have caused Bearg to lose a substantial amount of business. Similar shortfalls have not been recognized at his two other grooming shops in San Francisco and Menlo Park where the roads remain open he said. 

Still, Bearg said he’s supportive of maintaining parklets in front of restaurants but would like to see a more equitable program that benefits all merchants, supporting a hybrid model until the city can develop a more thoughtful approach to revamping the area. 

“It’s challenging times. We have to all work together to understand each other’s concerns to come up with the best solutions for everybody’s needs,” Bearg said. 

On Monday, the City Council will consider amending its Laurel Street Closure Program to restrict the size of parklets to that of restaurant storefronts and only allowing outdoor seating for businesses that are open at least five days a week starting Aug. 8. 

Staff argue the changes would allow for increased parking on the 600 block of Laurel Street and the return of the farmers' market in the downtown area. The event is currently held on Bayport Avenue and Varian Street from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday but has decreased in size and attendance. Recognizing the event’s limiting conditions, members of Chamber San Mateo County which formerly managed the event, said that it “is unlikely to survive,” according to the staff report. 

Farmers market, community feel

Maggie Mooney, a 10-year San Carlos resident and sales associate at Shelby’s Garden at 629 Laurel St., shared her strong support for the return of the downtown farmers’ market. She suggested the city consider closing additional blocks of Laurel Street for the event if the road is not reopened. 

While not too far away from its pre-pandemic location, Mooney said getting to the farmers' market is less convenient than before, suggesting she’d rather visit the Belmont farmers market instead. She also praised the experience of hosting the market on Laurel Street which she said encouraged interaction with booths and shops. 

“It felt like you were a part of a community but that kind of charm is gone now,” Mooney said, calling the current look of the street an eyesore and noting many nonrestaurant merchants are blocked from view by the parklets. 

The current parklet setting along the road also occasionally serves as a subtle reminder of the pandemic, she said. Instead, Mooney would like to see a closer return to pre-pandemic days when all merchants were visible from either sidewalk and parking was more available. 

Without council action, the program would continue as-is until it’s current end date of Sept. 1, 2022. Some councilmembers have also expressed interests in making a version of the closure permanent, a plan of which Mooney and some merchants disapproved.

“I understand people need to make money and they’re catching up but the town needs to come up with a decision that makes sense for everybody,” Mooney said. “I’m fully understanding of what happened but we’ve got to move forward.” 

The City Council will meet remotely via Zoom at 7 p.m. Monday, July 12, and will be streamed live at www.sancarlosca.iqm2.com and on Comcast Channel 27 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99. Remote public comments will be received by telephone during the meeting, prior to the close of public comment on an item. *67 (669) 900-9128, Meeting ID: 882 5614 0939. 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106