By Tom Moore
108 years.
That is the number of years that Seal Beach residents and visitors have not had to pay for parking on Main Street or side streets (Ocean Avenue, Eighth Street).
I would like more feedback from residents and businesses and also a more in-depth look at data related to the impacts of parking before the City Council makes a change. This is a change to something that our residents and visitors have enjoyed for 108 years. We as council members should be open-minded enough to allow a few more months of feedback from our residents and businesses before we make a decision that will impact the City forever.
Once the City crosses the red line of charging for parking on its streets, there is no going back. How would rates increase each year? Will the City start charging on adjacent streets like Ocean Ave? Once the line is crossed, when will it stop? What data is there that justifies the change (if revenue is not the only reason)? Are there other ways to improve parking with signs or other lots?
We have parking experts who live in Seal Beach and I would like to hear more from them as well as discuss ways to improve parking overall.
Let us be thoughtful and listen to residents of Seal Beach and our businesses before making a change towards what might be a path towards being more like Long Beach or Los Angeles area. We are elected by the residents of Seal Beach. They are above us on the ORG chart and we need to do what our residents voted us to do and listen to them.
I believe that the residents and businesses of Seal Beach deserve to have their voice heard and have a “seat at the table” being involved on a resident-driven committee vs. a few townhall meetings run by our parking consultant.
Lets’ have a serious discussion for a few more months and then make a more informed decision that will benefit the residents of Seal Beach for the next hundred years!
Tom Moore is the council representative for District Two (Leisure World, College Park West, and Rossmoor Center) and the city’s 2023 mayor.
