Community Meetings This Tuesday on Broadband Service and Downtown Parking

I want to inform you of upcoming community meetings hosted by the city.

First, the city will hold two public workshops later this month for San Leandro business owners, landlords and property owners, and real estate brokers to offer their input on the availability of broadband internet service. In addition, San Leandro businesses are encouraged to complete a short online survey on broadband availability at www.sanleandro.org/broadba​nd.

The workshops and online survey are part of a new initiative by the city to develop and implement a broadband strategy. We are also reviewing a proposal to install a new 10-mile fiber optic loop to attract and retain high-tech and data-intensive businesses to San Leandro.

Fast, reliable and affordable Internet service is essential for all businesses today, and we want to assist our businesses by maximizing broadband availability in San Leandro.

The first workshop will be held on Tuesday, July 19, noon to 1:00 p.m. at the San Leandro , 13909 East 14th Street, Conference Room C.

The second workshop will be on Tuesday, July 26, 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., at the Davis Street Transfer Station Education Center, 2516 Davis Street (please park at the Administration Building).

Downtown Parking

Second, there will be a community meeting on the evening of Tuesday, July 19 to discuss downtown parking. 

With the city’s new 395-car, LEED certified, four-story downtown parking garage scheduled to be completed in summer 2012, the city is reviewing how well parking functions throughout the downtown, and intends to create a parking management strategy.

We want community feedback regarding effective employee parking strategies, the implementation of license plate reader enforcement technology, the creation of parking zones, and the effectiveness of parking meters versus strictly enforced timed free parking. 

As background, the City needed to replace the old parking garage because it wasn’t seismically reinforced. This new garage, combined with new on-street parking, will be adding 115 more parking spaces for customers and employees.

This is one of several new projects being planned for the downtown. Input from the community for our parking management strategy will help the city address the needs and wants of downtown customers and employees alike. 

The meeting on downtown parking is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Sister Cities Gallery at , 835 East 14th Street.