Life on the road

As I walk throughout Redwood City, I regularly see not only the numerous homemade tent encampments tucked here and there, but also the increasing number of recreational vehicles parked on our streets — RVs in which people are actively living. I hadn’t thought much about those RVs until a number of people living along Stafford Street voiced their concerns to the City Council. They noted the inordinate number of RVs parked along their street, and the trash and buckets of human waste that some had left behind. Although the complainants lived along Stafford Street, I’ve observed many RVs parked on other Redwood City streets as well, including Oddstad Drive and Walnut Street by our Kmart store.

Some RV dwellers may enjoy life on the streets, but most would probably prefer a more socially acceptable place to park, if not a more conventional living situation altogether. Unfortunately, Redwood City has no RV parks; the two that have Redwood City addresses are both in unincorporated parts of San Mateo County. And both are undoubtedly full.

Assuming that Redwood City decides that people shouldn’t be living in vehicles on our public streets, before the city moves them along there should at least be some alternative, one that includes RV dwellers as well as those who are living in their cars. Given our land costs we can’t reasonably expect a private developer to build an RV park in our area. But a private RV park isn’t the only solution. I can think of three.

First, the city either owns or directly controls some parcels of land that could be appropriate for both RVs and those living in their cars. For instance, there is a good-sized parcel off Maple Street, close to the water and to Redwood City’s police station. Although the city has plans for that parcel long term, in the interim it seems like a good place to set up an overnight parking area. The city could provide some basic amenities — including trash cans, portable toilets and perhaps even a shower truck or two — and perhaps charge a small fee.

A second option would be for the city to encourage one or two of the developers hoping to build large projects within Redwood City to do something similar with their currently empty properties, until they get the green light to build (assuming that they ever do). For instance, the Jay Paul Company has proposed building three large office buildings on 27 acres of land that once housed Malibu Golf & Games, Malibu Grand Prix and Lyngso Garden Materials, among others. Nearly all of the site has been cleared; there should be plenty of room for a temporary overnight parking area.

Finally, there is the private option. For years, my youngest brother has been helping to create what today is called a “safe parking” site. He, and others, turned the fenced and gated parking lot of a disused Methodist church into a place where people who live in their cars can safely park at night. They renovated the old social hall, enabling access to its toilets and showers while also providing an indoor space where kids can do homework and adults can socialize into the early evening. This is a model that we should be able to follow in Redwood City. We have plenty of parking lots that are empty in the evenings, lots that a charitable organization could use to provide safe overnight parking. For one, the parking lot in front of our now-shuttered Orchard Supply Hardware seemingly would be an ideal candidate.

Lately Redwood City has been working to get ahead of the issue, and should soon be announcing some short-term remedies. But those aren’t likely to change where people are parking. Longer term measures providing some off-street parking should surface sometime next year, but that leaves both RV dwellers and the people who live and work on the affected streets up in the air for several more months. We need to find ways to move more quickly, and give everyone a living situation they too can be thankful for.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.