SAN DIEGO — Several people in Encinitas are frustrated that parking will go from parking your car head-in to parallel parking which they say will create 300 less parking spots next to the beach and restaurants. Construction zone signs are posted for a mile from Leucadia Blvd along North Vulcan Avenue to La Costa.
Encinitas residents Sara Mertz and her husband Mike Brawner said they are disappointed they weren't able to provide public input before city officials started to reconfigure parking spaces.
"I would say don’t eliminate 300 parking spaces along Vulcan Avenue. It's ridiculous," Mertz said. "There is no parking spaces at all in southern California! People want to go to the beach! It’s going to hurt restaurants owners and people who live on this street."
CBS 8 is Working for You and wanted to find out why Encinitas is renovating parking near the beach. Mertz and Brawner said city officials told them the construction is to prevent oversized vehicles from parking, to clean up the area and also to make it safer.
"It's disappointing they didn’t include us in any decisions without asking," Brawner said.
"Parking is premium on the beach," Mertz said. "Don’t eliminate the spaces!"
They said they tried reaching out to the city again, but haven’t heard back.
"It's like calling a black hole," Mertz said.
CBS 8 reached out to the City of Encinitas numerous times since Friday and have not yet heard back.
Meanwhile, the couple doesn’t want the project to go any further without the community’s input.
"I want them to stop what they're doing now," Brawner said. "Give everyone an idea what the plan is and have some input. They need to ask us first and tell us what they want to do and why and make sure it is right for the community."
Mertz agreed.
"I don’t think the plan has been well thought through," Mertz said.
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
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