Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara City Council voted Tuesday to approve $700,000 for automated license plate readers that will eventually replace downtown parking kiosk workers.
Pre-pandemic there were approximately 100 employees, also called “kiosketeers,” who routinely greeted visitors at downtown Santa Barbara parking lots and handled parking fees, it’s now down to 45. Since COVID-19 most downtown lots have been opened without employees as the city loses about $50,000 per week.
Roughly twenty hourly employees are expected to remain to handle the transition to automated parking. Overall the transition is estimated to save the city $1.1 million per year.
Other options proposed during the meeting would be to eliminate the 75-minute free parking period in all lots or increasing the hourly rate to $2, but this was ultimately shot down as businesses owners are already struggling with the pandemic.
The council voted 6-1 to approve the new program which will take approximately one year to fully transition.
Is there maybe a solution for the kiosk workers? Can they somehow be promised other positions as city workers? Some of them have been doing it for years I’m sure they can be appointed other jobs still working for the city
Cadillackid, there is a solution! Remove the restrictions that have proven over the past 8 months to be very effective at destroying small businesses and jobs, and very ineffective at controlling the spread of covid-19. Let those that choose to do so go about their lives safely, knowing we are in a pandemic. Those that choose to stay home because they’re at-risk, or because they are afraid of a virus that’s comparable to the flu (for those not at-risk), are free to do so. Businesses start to recover from increased activity, downtown parking revenue increases, many many jobs saved.
John, The City of Santa Barbara has already procured a picture of your face, registered it with the Feds, and sold it online to a company in China for future marketing purposes. You might want to start combing your hair.
Yet one more reason to avoid the State Street food court once known as downtown Santa Barbara. God, I love Ventura!
Good intentions, but AWFUL idea for a town with an aging population. Prepare to be stuck in a 10 car deep line with grandma at the front, unable to figure out the machine…every time you leave a parking lot with one of these machines….
Let’s see, downtown workers are losing their jobs and, for some, certainly, their housing; the city is losing money with people not going downtown and paying for parking as much, so the city’s solution is to fire the parking kiosk workers, “the face of downtown,” who have always, to this city taxpayer/resident, been welcoming — and the head of transportation, Rob Dayton, says how hard it is (for him) to make this decision. “They are the face of downtown,” Dayton said, but the city will survive. Councilmember Sneddon was the only one point to vote against it, pointing out that the youthful and occasional retiree workers “give the city a good feeling.” (quotes from Noozhawk story.) …Shocking, really, how two-faced are some of the councilmembers. One can’t help but think that if these parttime workers were members of the SEIU, at least some of the other councilmembers, esp. the mayor, would have spoken/voted differently. I don’t go downtown and park in the garages because of the welcome and friendliness, but when’s there a choice between downtown and elsewhere, upper State, Goleta, I will be even less likely to go downtown or will be sure to be very careful about 75-minutes. It would be interesting for someone to compare how much the city of SB spends on salaries for the transportation staff compared with other cities of similar size.
Im sure the city will start saying it was for public safety. You know, less chance of spreading covid. Bad idea all around!!!!!
I cant answer for REX . I know when we lived by the Channel Island harbor, the Ventura/Oxnard locals and businesses are far more friendly than the snooty Santa Barbaran’s.
10:42PM – But true, nonetheless. While a good many of us dust farters can indeed cope with the intricacies of gracious 21st Century living, a lot of them can’t. It will take only one geezer at the wheel of a 1959 Nash Rambler to bring the parking lot exodus to a screeching halt as they try to figure out how to pay. (And I say that as the geezer driver of a 1964 Plymouth). Nothing ageist about it. It’s called reality.
This is just the begining- Under the guise of “THE COVID DEATH SENTENCE” (lol), more and more jobs will be gone forever and you sheep will follow what Big Brother tells you.
Great way for the police to ticket cars with only one plate unless they are from a state not requiring them.
Here they go again? Government officials always claim “more license” and now want to capture that. What will be court costs, and administrative costs to do this? Complaints, damage? Please let’s stop using COVID for all kinds of rationalizations! It is getting old and annoying. Worse, sounds like a done deal? This reflects the rampant and controlling attitude by elected officials and bureaucrats who do this irrational math for their own benefit. This is getting worse, and our town looks like it . Safe distance now means avoid downtown–it is a mess. I know better ways to save a million every year! When I taught Organizational Psychology years ago–my theme was: NONHUMAN systems are inherently INHUMANE in what they decide to do without conscience nor conscious reflection. Is this humane? Money savings at the expense of needed jobs for people who support tourism cash cows? These folks actually help people with other matters as well. What gives cities the right to WASTE other people’s time? That is a cost too. There are so many unaddressed “what ifs…” I would bet and action on them will cost money. Understaffing has negative long term effects on Community.
I have to travel at lot, and “back ups” delay, lot rage, or machine issues are incredibly frustrating. People are usually in a hurry to get somewhere else. What will the savings really be with unsupervised areas? New hangouts and areas for crime. Also we have a population of young residents (3 adult schools) who need part-time jobs, retirees who need work to live here, and I can assure you that savings was based on assumptions there is NO cost ignoring that crime or homelessness takes over these sites as in other “unguarded” cities and parking lots. Frustration escalates, damage is done to the machines and serious back ups happen. They also rip down signs with their cars–cover their plates. I also wonder if License plates will be stolen as they are now by criminals?
For god’s sake get a grant or look for additional funding for these positions from State funded job development programs. The City is liable if bad things happen and it was not vigilant.
Do we care about real people and their livelihood or just want to keep controlling them with more
negative experiences and costs of living here? Why not a parking fee per year like the harbor area, and keep the 75 minutes with a simple increase. I remember when parking here was free. It was a better place to live and work.
As the min wage keeps getting higher and higher, i’m worried more and more of these entry level positions will disappear. The delta between man vs machine is shrinking for better worse depending which side of the equation you’re on. #lawofunintendedconsequences
Edhat is more than just those who comment. Most of them are sane, in contrast to the commenters you refer to.
I’ve lived in sb for almost my entire life and I’ve honesty never had a bad interaction with a parking kiosk worker… they have pretty much universally been amazingly pleasant! But.. in the 21st century their job doesn’t makes sense. Add in COVID… an their job ABSOLUTELY DOESN’T MAKE SENSE! We’ve all managed parking lots in which you have to put your credit card or cash in and pay before you leave. It’s life… it’s very doable, not to mention easy and logical.