I want more housing but taking over the parking lots downtown is crazy. Even if you put up garages that is not the solution. Everywhere there are garages there are more crimes: even a murder earlier this year in Palo Alto. Plus it is just not workable for seniors and people with mobility issues.
The parking lots are heavily used, as is the meager street parking that is available.
A FAR BETTER IDEA would be to rezone the structures along Santa Cruz Ave to mixed use. This is what has been done in RWC and in North Fair Oaks. Santa Cruz Ave is currently a virtual dead zone with multiple buildings vacant or going out of business, some of which occupy a lot of ground space. This could be highly profitable for the owner.
A potential downside to very low income housing in central MP could be the prices charged and the products available at the stores along Santa Cruz. If people have to pay less in rent they may have more money for groceries but they are very unlikely to patronize rug stores, Draegers, Care Indeed, or any of the high end restaurants. Even the Goodwill store charges exorbitant prices. Much is stated about mass transit, but this is a fallacy: nothing actually exists. There is a train station nearby but how many people want to go to San Francisco or San Jose. The bus "service" along El Camino is basically useless and there is no cross town transportation except for the school kids.
I would support housing if the "main drag" along Santa Cruz were to be mixed use, because something has to be done to cure the dead zone. Stanford managed to do a mixed use development along El Camino, why cant the City?
