On Talk of the Bay, April 28, 2020, Christine Barrington interviews John Hall of Downtown Commons Advocates and Robert Morgan of The Santa Cruz Sierra Club Executive Committee about better community alternatives for both parking solutions and renovating our aging library. Currently the city of Santa Cruz proposes building a six-story garage structure with a new library to be housed on the ground floor. The plan situates this structure on the site of the current Wednesday Santa Cruz Farmer’s Market.
Downtown Commons Advocates, the Sierra Club, Campaign for Sustainable Transportation, as well as high-level consultants JR Parking Associates and Nelson/Nygaard are advocating for alternative proposals that assert there is no real need for additional parking downtown and that to expand parking in this way and at this time of climate crisis would be detrimental to the quality of life and culture for the Santa Cruz community. Community resources would be better spent investing in renovating the current library in its present site and cultivating spaces that support the human spirit and community connection through the creation of thoughtful and enlivening public spaces.
Find out the latest information on the DCA website https://downtowncommonsadvocates.weebly.com
and the Downtown Commons Advocates Facebook Page: FB/DCA
If you would like to be a part of Downtown Commons Advocates contact the group at: Downtowncommonsadvocates@gmail.com
For detailed information including commentary and analysis by consulting groups check out the Garage Alternatives website.
Join the Santa Cruz Sierra Club and Campaign for Sustainable Transportation for an online event with Associate Professor for Environmental Studies Adam Millard-Ball examining the appropriateness of building a parking garage at this time of climate crisis:
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 @ 7pm. Adam Millard-Ball/Eventbrite
Approximate Timeline for Santa Cruz City Council Decision about the Downtown Library
Early May: Group 4 issues a report on its proposal for siting the Downtown Library within a mixed-use parking garage at Lot 4, the present location of the Downtown Farmers’ Market.
May 7, 4.30pm: The City Council Library Subcommittee (Justin Cummings, Sandy Brown, Donna Meyers) holds a virtual meeting for Group 4 Architecture to present its report. The meeting apparently will not include opportunities for public questions or comments. Following this meeting, the subcommittee presumably will meet in closed session to formulate its report to the City Council, with any recommendations about how to proceed with the Downtown Library project, either by renovation/reconstruction at its existing Civic Center location or by inclusion in a mixed-use garage project taking up the entirety of parking lot 4 (under the latter plan, the Farmers’ Market would be moved to a parking lot on Front Street, behind Pizza My Heart).
Mid-Summer: The City Council probably needs to make a final decision concerning the project no later than this period if the project is to be completed within a reasonable timeline relative to Measure S bond funding.
City Council Library Subcommittee: http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-council-subcommittees/downtown-library-3994
To receive Downtown Commons Advocates updates: https://downtowncommonsadvocates.weebly.com/join-with-us.html
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