How much would you pay to surf here?

Rincon Point, April 1, 2012

A dollar an hour, two dollars an hour? Three dollars a day, five dollars a day? Ten dollars a day? I would stop visiting. What? These are some pretty bad choices to say the least but unfortunately, they are the only ones offered on the Santa Barbara County Parks Beach Parking Fee Survey.  I lied and told them I would stop visiting, but where was the option for "None of the above." Or the, "I am opposed to the idea of any fees on land previously set aside for public use, especially when it was originally misappropriated from the Chumash in the first place." Okay, how about, "You've got to be f@#king kidding me!"

One of seven parks under fire.

Parking fees at the Queen of the Coast are not the only threat. What about Lookout Park in Summerland, Loon's, Hendry's, Goleta, Ocean, and Guadalupe Dunes. How much would you be willing to pay to park there? How much are you willing to pay to take your dog for a walk, dip your toes in the water, or just relax with a good book? How much would you pay to fish, take a romantic stroll, a jog, or obsessively hunt seaglass? How much would you pay to just stare at the sea and clear your head during your lunch break. If I had to suggest something, it might go like this. First 90 minutes free, after that, $1.00 per hour, $5.00 max.

That might work for a lot of people and it is pretty similar to the downtown parking arrangement, the city might even go for it. That might be enough for Bob and his big old Rottweiler Sissy who I see there every single day. It might be enough for that older couple that enjoy a cup of coffee nearly every morning on the bluff, before heading down the ramp for short walk on the beach. It might be enough James and his German Short Hair, Finley, and the countless other dog walkers, and beachcombers I see every day. It might even be enough for a quick surf. Two hours would be even better, but that would still not be long enough for me. Rincon feeds my soul, and I know I am not alone on that one.

Surfing for free. January 22, 2012

The good news is this. I did confirm that the Lower Lot is unaffected by Santa Barbara's inability to run their city. First off it's in Ventura, but the deciding factor is that lot is run by the state park system. Hey, it's not my preferred spot to park, but it soon will be if this ridiculous plan goes through. Unfortunately the state is in far worse shape than Santa Barbara, so it probably wouldn't be long before someone up at the state park commission says, "Hey, why aren't we charging for parking at Rincon? We do it at San O, Malibu, El Cap.." Suddenly it's $10.00 a day to park in the Cove. And please don't give me some story about how the county or the state is in such bad shape. I'm in bad shape. Half the people I know are in bad shape, financially speaking, anyway. Santa Barbara County had close to $800,000,000.00 in revenue last year. Yes, 800 Million! Certainly they can figure out a way to keep our parks open and free to the public, or at least have the guts to take it to a public vote.

Free Parking... For now.

Some people, notably the Planning Commission themselves, are already writing this off as a done deal. Sure, what do the restaurants at Hendry's and Goleta care? It's a not a problem for them. They'll be able to validate those parking stubs just like they do at Stearns Wharf. What does the planning commission care? Hey paying for parking is a Southern California Tradition. Ventura, Hueneme, Malibu, LA, Huntington, it's endless. UCSB!!! It's a outright crime to not have free public access to Campus Point. Okay thanks, at least I don't have to carry around a bag of quarters anymore, they take debit cards now. All of this should be enough to make your stomach turn. I'm sure, well I would hope, they'll have a annual pass for locals but those aren't cheap either. The Port Hueneme Annual Pass is $100 Dollars a year! The California State Park Pass is $125.

That still doesn't sit right with me. What about you? Now normally I tend to head off on a few different tangents on these blogs, but today I want to get straight to the point. It's not too late for your voice to be heard. There is another meeting coming up later this month. And even if you are like me and would rather be hit by a truck than speak in public, maybe you can just bring a sign, or show up for moral support. Let's keep surfing free in SB! Mark your calendars.

August 16, 2012 5:30PM

Santa Barbara Planning Commission Hearing Room 123 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

*Remote testimony is available in the Santa Maria Board of Supervisors Hearing Room

Shane Orr.. The Bounce. No parking allowed.

All of this comes on the heels of the losing 212 parking spaces along the highway here in La Conchita. Yes you heard me correctly. If you didn't know already, beach access here will soon be restricted to Mussel Shoals to the south, the new pedestrian tunnel in La Conchita, and the existing parking lots at Rincon Point. Any way you slice it, it's gonna be a mile walk if you want to surf the Bounce. At present I'm lucky enough to be living in LC. So other than losing that left hand turn into town, and the fact I have to drive an additional six miles every time I leave home, I'm pretty happy with the Cal Trans US 101 Carpool Lane Improvement Project.  I'm not ecstatic about six lanes of traffic, but yeah overall, I'm pretty happy. There's the brand new eight foot tall pedestrian tunnel to the beach. Ramps leading to the beach and up to a shiny new beachside class one bikeway. Yep, no more back breaking, head scraping trips through the four foot drainage tunnel thats served LC since 1955. And a protected bike path taking me pretty much the only place I need to go. It's like a dream come true.. If you live here. 

CHP has already issuing warnings.

Unfortunately for everyone else who enjoyed the free and easy access to over two miles of sloping, usually uncrowded beach, and the occasional surfable wave... I would say it's a pretty big loss. Some of the best times of my life were spent down at the north end of LC teaching my daughters to surf. I guess it's no surprise that Cal Trans can mow down Surfrider, the Coastal Commission, and anyone else who gets in the way of their dream of a super highway extending from Ventura to Goleta. Gosh. Even the fine folks of Monticito couldn't stop them.  At the very least they might have considered a second tunnel along with some additional parking at Tank Farm to access to the northern end of La Conchita. Maybe it's not too late to do something about that but for now, according to Claudia Gomez spokeperson for Cal Trans, "There are NO plans to replace the 212 spots lost in the $162,000,000.00 project. Yes.. Millions." 

No Parking! Bobby.. Somewhere along two miles of sloping beach,