![\"New](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Screen-shot-2013-02-01-at-12.02.02-PM-300x175.png\" "\\"Screen")
Uptown Community Parking District Operations Manager Ben Verdugo was on hand with HBA Executive Director Benjamin Nicholls to solicit feedback on and give a taste of several up-and-coming projects, including a website and smartphone application that visitors and residents of the neighborhood can use to find parking in real time.<\/p>\n
The initiatives, Nicholls said, were a result of a collaborative effort by the HBA, Parking District and the Hillcrest Town Council. Luke Terpstra, Town Council president, was also in attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so great to see all the wonderful energy that\u2019s going on in this neighborhood,\u201d Council President Todd Gloria said. \u201cI\u2019m glad you are all really setting the pace for the neighborhoods in San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n
Temporary workstations were set up around the restaurant, allowing HBA members and guests to view material on each initiative. There was a place to offer general suggestions, and Nicholls said he urged everyone to be as inquisitive as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of us around and we can answer your questions,\u201d he said. \u201cAsk us about parking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adding additional parking in Hillcrest was one of the projects undertaken by the Parking District, who did an initial survey of the neighborhood and identified 150 potential locations to increase parking. Making recommendations to the city on changing the layout of parking \u2013 from parallel to angle parking, for instance \u2013 has already begun, with a location on Vermont Street complete.<\/p>\n
The City will change the configuration of two other sections of parking this month, including Centre Street north of University Avenue, and near the intersection of Montecito Way and First Avenue.<\/p>\n
Addressing concerns bicyclists have regarding a change to angle parking, Verdugo said the Parking District kept the bicyclists\u2019 safety in mind as part of the overall discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want to do actually, which is good for bicyclists, is \u2026 to have reverse-angle parking,\u201d he said. The City\u2019s first reverse-angle parking configuration was created last year in Golden Hill, in part to address safety for bicyclists.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a lot more visibility,\u201d Verdugo said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to try to get some in Hillcrest as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other initiatives not directly related to parking were presented, including several bicycle infrastructure projects. Hillcrest currently has one bicycle corral that accommodates 12 bicycles, with a LGBT Pride-themed corral scheduled for installation on Richmond Avenue in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes way beyond parking,\u201d Verdugo said, adding that the Parking District is a stakeholder in the SANDAG-led Uptown Regional Bicycle Corridor Project.<\/p>\n
Two other initiatives at the HBA open house received a lot of attention, with a computer station set up to highlight the Parking District\u2019s upcoming website and phone application.<\/p>\n
Set to launch in early April, programmers were on hand to walk HBA members through the new web-based search program, which is organized to provide real-time parking information, like lot locations, available hours and cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea behind it was to give the user the ability to search and find things that are relevant,\u201d said Adam Harris, who presented the web tools. \u201cWhen you come to the website for the first time, you\u2019re going to see everything that exists in Hillcrest with regards to available parking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saying the plan is to \u201cbroaden the awareness of parking lots\u201d overall in the neighborhood, Harris added the official launch would happen with the start of a new Hillcrest shuttle.<\/p>\n
Verdugo discussed the shuttle as well, which will be operated by Old Town Trolley and offer pick-up and drop-off service at seven potential stops throughout Hillcrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a good opportunity for people to tell us what they like [and] what they don\u2019t like about it, so we can refine it in the next couple of months,\u201d Verdugo said.<\/p>\n
Using Parking District funds to help finance the shuttle, Verdugo said it would run as part of a six-month pilot program. \u201cIt\u2019s a novel concept, especially if we can do the loop in 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The free shuttle will operate 6 \u2013 10 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with main stops at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Hillcrest branch. It will run along University Avenue to First Avenue, then return to the DMV via Washington Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve tested the trolley about three or four times now,\u201d Verdugo said, adding that the shuttle is for visitors who choose to park in the DMV lot as well as residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people don\u2019t like to drive,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s our big selling point. You leave your house, you walk to one of the stops, and you can be there within 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uptown Community Parking District seeks feedback at HBA open house By Anthony King | SDUN Editor Several new parking and driving-alternative initiatives were the main topics of discussion at the most recent Hillcrest Business Association (HBA) member open house, held Wednesday, Jan. 30 at d Bar Restaurant.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":245808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"New parking initiatives coming to Hillcrest","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}