Thanks, Joan, for sharing your thoughts on important issues.

One idea that caught my eye related to parking. I like tieing the sale of any remaining surface parking lots downtown to a requirement that the resulting development include at least an equal number of public parking spaces underground.

No city councillor in years has acknowledged the importance of these lots or the importance of on-street downtown parking, nor do these matter to Planning Director Huja. In fact there's been recent scarey talk of removing yet another 500 on-street parking spaces.

That would all but end the motorist's quick stop downtown because garage parking eats up more time than any quick errand itself does. Now that this is threatening to be carried to extremes, continuing the city government's runaway prejudice against motorists grows more disturbing.

When the spaces and the lots are built on there's no turning back no matter how disasterous the result. I'm glad one potential Democratic candidate recognizes this.

Rey Barry (electronic mail, February 11, 2002)