Anyone who's spent time in the Gaslamp Quarter on a Friday or Saturday night knows what a crowded, high-traffic experience it can be.
So city planners are looking at a pilot program to bring a new dynamic to the nightlife scene in one of San Diego’s prime dining and entertainment destinations.
The idea is to turn 5th Avenue from Harbor Drive to Broadway into a so-called "active loading zone" – similar to the drop-off and pickup at airport terminals -- by getting rid of curbside parking between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Gaslamp Quarter executive director Michael Trimble said the program is expected to reduce traffic congestion for police and paramedics dealing with emergency situations and improve pedestrian safety.
”The perception (of drivers) is that maybe they’ll find that ‘miracle parking spot’ – which never happens,” Trimble told NBC 7 in an interview Monday.
"So not only are we taking away the parking, but we're promoting other structures in close proximity to the Gaslamp … there's tons of off-street parking. We have 'Park it on Market,' the 16th and K Parkade. The City Square building has a parking structure."
The strategy certainly appeals to Dan Estep, manager of Florent Restaurant & Lounge: “I think it's a great idea. Fifth Avenue is really congested, especially on weekends. And having that open space right there might allow more people to swing by in cars and taxis and be more of a benefit to the Gaslamp."
It's a plan that's been tried out on major holiday weekends, but rolling it out on year-round business is something that raises red flags for other Gaslamp restaurateurs.
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"I could imagine parking somewhere else is going to be even worse now,” said Bree Lochmiller, manager of Henry’s Pub. “Taking away these parking spaces away is going to cause everywhere else to be backed up.”
Said Toscana Café & Wine Bar manager Sean Shoja: "I think this is just going to push people away.”
Studies of how the system has worked on major holiday weekend nights, however, suggest there’ll be an upsurge in people carpooling, using online ride-sharing services, taxis and the trolley.
Trimble said the plan is to roll out the program on a year-long experimental basis sometime in early fall and follow it up with going to "reverse angle" parking on 4th and 6th Avenues from Harbor Drive to Broadway, to create more spaces away from 5th Avenue.
If all that pans out, the bumper-to-bumper parade of cars that chokes Fifth Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights figures to become a thing of the past.
