From: Derek Harn
Sent: Monday, March 2, 2026 9:02 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>
Subject: Reimagining the Core Concers
Hello,
We are writing today to express our concerns with the planning commission's choice to recommend the switch to a two-way street while also incorporating bike lane and sidewalk changes from the walkable one-way plan. Our concerns include:
• The impact on parking. It has been noted that we could lose around 50 spaces with this proposal.
Parking has already been a huge point of contention in downtown. There aren't enough spaces as it is, and eliminating 50 spaces does not seem like the best way to encourage downtown foot traffic. These people have to come from somewhere, and most people who visit our downtown are not within walking distance of downtown, but will drive here and park/shop/eat/drink at our different amazing businesses.
• The impact on traffic flow. This would severely back up Main Street and Bodega. The initial review of this plan acknowledged that it would not improve traffic. When approached by the Sebastopol Times about the impact unprotected left hand turns would have on traffic flow and safety, they were told that this had not even been considered. Therefor, the impact on traffic will be vastly worse than initially thought. This will also encourage people to cut through neighborhoods and side streets to avoid the congestion downtown, which seems counterintuitve to wanting to creat a safer space for pedestrians.
• Construction and the impact on local businesses. Since this will be a Caltrans project there is no way to guarantee how long this will take; however we have been around long enough to remember how long it took to build the bridge at the Laguna and to upgrade the sidewalks for accesibility.
Another example would be the sidewalks in Guernville which completely disrupted business and pushed many to their breaking point. Downtown businesses are already struggling, and having a construction site down Main Street for at best months, if not years, will inevitably cause some to close or relocate.
We very miuch hope that you take ours and the rest of our community's concerns to heart when making your desiciion. We both live and opperate our business in Sebastopol, and even if we were just residents, we would have the exact same concerns. We appreciate your time, thank you. --
Warmly,
Derek and Megan
DEREK & MEGAN HARN, Owners
Lunch Box Sonoma County
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