Removal of Parking in front of Local businesses on K Street in Arcata.

What is/are your opinions on the proposed removal of parking on K Street in front of local businesses?

— Chris Richards

Responses

Alex Stillman

K Street is a major route from Samoa to Spear Avenue.

The street is used as parking for major events on the Plaza and for the existing businesses. I do not support removal of parking on K Street. I do support better visibility at the corners, school zone, reduced speed limit and highly visible crosswalks.

Gregory Daggett

My view on this issue is not to remove parking on K Street and to encourage bicyclist to use a much safer route on L Street. Over 1,200 people have told our City Leaders that they wanted L Street to be a linear park from 7th to Samoa Blvd. The City Council on the Final Gateway Area Plan vote put the road back into the Plan. K Street businesses in the present and future will need parking, bus stops, loading and unloading locations to function. The sped limit for K Street is 25 mph, a safe speed. The problem is too many people are speeding, looking at their phones, and under the influence. Arcata Police told me at one 4-way stop intersection, three cars blew through the stop sign looking at their cell phone, in a 40-minute time frame. In the last two years a mother, students, and others have been killed and seriously injured in Arcata. I also shared an article from the New York Times, to the City Council “Why Are American Drivers So Deadly? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/magazine/dangerous-driving.html

Stacy Atkins-Salazar

As someone who owns a business on K Street I have had to recuse myself on this issue and must leave the decision making to my peers on the council.

Generally speaking, we need to find ways to slow cars down on some of our main streets (G, H, K, 11th, Alliance…) and provide safe access for people who want to use alternative methods of transportation like walking and biking, while also preserving parking.

Sarah Schaefer

As someone who lives right off K Street, you cannot deny the excessive speed of cars and safety issues that exist for bikes and pedestrians. Measures must be taken to slow and calm traffic while creating an inclusive street scape for all modes of transportation. There must be community involvement and outreach for the council and community to understand the impacts to parking and safety while working together to create a compromise that can both improve safety while also retaining parking for residents and businesses.

Dana Quillman

I consider the lack parking to be one of the biggest problems in Arcata. I actually want more parking in Arcata and it is one of the main issues I am running for council. I know all about the globalist agenda plans for 15-minute cities/smart cities and taking away cars and parking is a part of that agenda and I will work for hard to help stop that agenda from coming to fruition.

We have a very large senior population that is growing fast and seniors need cars to stay independent. I lost my ability to walk very far long before I became a senior. If it an happen to me, it can happen to anyone. Cars are freedom and right now the globalist agenda is working hard to take away all freedom and I oppose any method the government is using to do that.

Genevieve Serna

Thank you for this question.

I do agree that K Street has long been an issue in terms of pedestrian and cyclist safety in the city. As someone who believes safety should be the city’s top priority, while on council I would love the opportunity to collaborate with residents and business owners on K Street to arrive at a solution that works for all parties.

Chris Richards asks Alex Stillman, Stacy Atkins-Salazar, Sarah Schaefer, Gregory Daggett, Genevieve Serna, Dana Quillman, Shea Freedomhowler…