Ernest Chung and others have worked tirelessly on this project, and it looks like they have a pilot program! Congratulations!
As most of you know, Monterey-Salinas Transit has submitted a grant application to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District for the Park It! Point Lobos Area Shuttle. The shuttle service is a key element of the summer 2019 Demonstration Project. Other elements of the project include offsite parking north of the Carmel River, a reservation system, and elimination of Highway parking in the vicinity of Point Lobos. We are thankful that MST is leading the effort to provide shuttle service during the demonstration.
Park It! is most appreciative of your overwhelming support of the shuttle grant application. We understand that many of your respective organizations have already expressed your support to the Air Resources District, including:
Big Sur Land Trust
Big Sur Marathon Foundation
Carmel Chamber of Commerce
Carmel Highlands Association
Carmel Meadows Homeowners Association
Carmel River Watershed Conservancy
Carmel Valley Association
Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers
Coast Property Owners Association
LandWatch Monterey County
Lobos Ridge Road Association
Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Point Lobos Foundation
Ventana Wildlife Association
We are also deeply grateful to Assemblymember Anna Caballero, Assemblymember Mark Stone, Senator Bill Monning, and Supervisor Mary Adams for their strong support. You maybe interested in reading their support letters which are attached. Please thank them, not only for their tremendous support of Park It!, but also their dedication to making our communities better for all of us.
To better understand the visitation pattern and numbers to Point Lobos State Reserve, our partner Point Lobos Foundation is commissioning a traffic and visitation study at the park. The study is scheduled to begin in August. Data from the study will be used for the planning of offsite parking capacity, requirements for the reservation system, and impact of eliminating parking along the Highway.
While we are planning for the demonstration project and what might make sense for subsequent phases, the east side of Highway I around Point Lobos is actually closed to parking during the construction of the Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project. We have all noticed a distinct improvement in traffic safety, a reduction in parking-related traffic congestion, and better emergency vehicle access to communities south of the park. It adds to our confidence that the Demonstration Project will work well. In fact, some of you have suggested maintaining the current “No Parking” zone while we work on a more comprehensive, longer term solution. We want to hear from you about your experience, and what you think would make good sense in the near and longer terms.
We still have much work ahead in order to pull off the demonstration project next summer. We are only able to continue our progress through the dedicated efforts of a small group of volunteers. But we can use more help. If you have expertise in public engagement, project planning and management, and coastal access and land use permitting, would you consider helping us?
Our gratitude for your support.
Kate, thank you for sharing this incredibly good news! There is a request at the end of the letter but no information on how to reply- can you please provide? Thank you.
My contact is Ernest Chung, but he did not provide that information. I would contact a neighborhood group in Carmel Highlands, Susan. I’ll ask Ernest if he has that information.
https://bigsurkate.blog
Thank you Kate, I don’t think that there is a Neighborhood group in the Highlands specific to this issue per se, as I’ve seen comments about the desire to form one, to address keeping the temporary signage & other concerns. I think people will be thrilled to learn this info!