From: Gavin W <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2026 10:37 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>
Cc: info <[email protected]>; Mary Gourley <[email protected]> Subject: ublic Comment: CALTRANS Core Plan - General Transportation and Active Transportation Infrastructure.
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
As a Sebastopol resident, I am writing to urge the Council to systematically repurpose underutilized on-street parking spaces into dedicated, safe pedestrian and protected cycling facilities across our downtown corridors.
Sebastopol is uniquely positioned to thrive as a model 15-minute city. Our compact footprint and population of 7,700 mean that utility cycling and walking are highly viable options for daily errands for able-bodied residents. For those with limited mobility, our city already possesses a vast, underutilized network of off-street municipal parking lots that can easily absorb vehicle demand.
Prioritizing safe active transportation directly supports the city's Climate Action Framework and creates an environment where people linger and spend money at local businesses, rather than just driving through. As a pragmatic first step and community compromise, I urge the city to formalize existing informal parking areas—such as the spaces on Depot Street—to offset the strategic removal of street parking on major corridors.
Street space is a valuable public asset. It should be used to move people safely and sustainably, rather than for storage of private vehicles.
Thank you,
Gavin