Is Oakland Really Open For Business? An Open Letter to Oakland’s Mayor Jean Quan (Community Voices)
photo by Thomas Hawk http://bit.ly/e54Vrs
I just finished reading Chris Anderson’s Free: The Future of a Radical Price. The book disturbed me with its thesis about how “free” actually helps in some cases, rather than hurts! Actually, the concept of attracting more people for “free” is not entirely new; however, its use is where creativity comes alive!
For example, I have watched with horror at how Oakland officials have dealt with the city’s parking fiasco by creating more booby traps, penalties, and trickery to earn revenues. They are hoping people make mistakes instead of working on making people love the product called Oakland, California. Oakland lacks creativity and people willing to think outside the box to solve its problems!
Several nights ago, I parked in Downtown Oakland on a Saturday night. I spent the evening at Mua, Luka’s and other restaurants close to Broadway–Grand. When I returned to my car shortly before midnight, I discovered I had received a $66 parking ticket. To my surprise, the sign indicated “No Parking” after 12am on a Saturday night. I was stunned! Are we closing down Oakland? Are we encouraging people to flee Oakland once the clock strikes Midnight?
If someone has had too much to drink, could they really just chill, knowing full well they might need to leave right now. Well, in Oakland you had better leave town fast, because we have parking meter agents riding two in a car just hopping out to give out tickets.
I frequent most major cities, but Oakland is my hometown; supporting it is key. But I think it is absolutely crazy how any city expecting to attract regular patrons to its downtown areas could adopt such an anti-business policy while expecting businesses to thrive in these harsh economic times. Does it make any sense to punish the patrons? Do they expect to maintain their tax base by driving businesses out of business?
Sometimes, I wonder if political leaders and city government officials really understand the stress, sacrifices and guts demanded of today's entrepreneurs and hospitality-business owners!
How much is spent on the Oakland Parking Department for salaries, staff, and the bureaucracy it takes to monitor whether the fines are paid? Days ago I saw two parking agents riding in the car together as if they were police officers patrolling the streets. Actually, I'd be happy to see two police officers riding together, but two parking agents isn’t exactly providing value to the city compared with what good police officers could do for the community!
I am sure the city desires to raise more money for police, fire, and other necessary services to the city. Well, wouldn’t a mass infusion of people coming to Oakland help the city even more?
Heaven forbid we take parking ticket money away from the city. Let’s examine some solutions to this issue, so that I don’t sound like just another guy complaining about the parking ticket he got for not running out to his car before the stroke of midnight.
1. If you get a ticket in Downtown Oakland, offer the option of exchanging the ticket for a restaurant coupon. Here’s my idea: if I get a ticket for $66, instead of paying it back to wasteful government, let me spend that $66 on a local business.
2. Eliminate all parking fines today for 6-months for those that participate in “Buy Oakland Business” for people who put their overdue fines back into city business owners.
3. Restrict all ticketing in Downtown Oakland to the wee hours of the morning, from 3am to 6am. Most major cities don’t do sweeping during peak hours.
4. Let people pay back their old tickets with an amnesty system, whereby all your parking ticket fees can be paid off by supporting local Oakland businesses, new businesses especially. Neighborhoods most in need could mean points shaved off your tickets.
5. Eliminate parking meter hours at 2PM daily to encourage people to come into the areas earlier. You could also have points shaved if you frequent downtown Oakland in the middle of the day on the weekend when it gets very lonely down there. Business owners would love that extra daytime business, and then you would not have Willie Brown (while dining at Pican) cracking jokes about Oakland being dead during the day!
6. Build a “Customer Service Department” for the city of Oakland business owners and people coming into Oakland; make it look like a McDonald’s. I am serious—make it curbside like McDonald’s. Set up a customer service center for all business owners to receive instant support or help 24 hours a day. And
if you get a ticket for parking, you walk in, get a coupon to support Oakland business, and then your parking ticket is paid off. Or you get 50% off instantly.
For example, the Saint Louis suburb of Clayton, MO, has drop boxes outside their City Hall for paying parking tickets. And if you walk into City Hall to
pay within a half-hour of receiving the ticket, you get a 50% discount. Of course, their tickets are only five or ten dollars, not like in CA—you get my gist? This new customer service department will provide support to business owners for police services, tech support, and act as a bridge to help businesses.
For example, Piedmont Avenue shop owners could operate the parking meters, so their patrons don’t get tickets while dining. The ideas are endless.
7. Instead of adding on late fees, allow the extra money to be spent on a new business in the city of Oakland, one that just opened its doors. Create a city-approved list of businesses that fit the description, and let people walk in and buy a voucher that goes directly to the coffers of the new business. We all know that charging 50% more for a late ticket is unreal anyway. The city could mail out vouchers to late pay ticket holders, encouraging them to use this program. Use organizations like the Downtown Oakland Association to facilitate the program, since they are connected to the new businesses in
Oakland and surrounding areas.
8. Think in terms of helping people come to Oakland, and think of ways to help “Critical Mass” to happen for a change, versus critical exodus out of Oakland!
The entire parking ticket–meter issue needs to be refocused. Let’s reposition the whole game. The savings could be huge, with fewer resources going toward booting cars. If we attract more people to certain areas to shop, dine, and be entertained, then revenue will grown, business owners will turn a higher profit, and more jobs will be created or sustained.
Who benefits from the “run the citizens out of Oakland” propaganda? Alameda and Emeryville, because they have more free parking spaces. They encourage people to come into the city, and they know what we all know—when lunch hour hits, most people would rather leave Oakland for lunchtime than stay!
Stop making surrounding businesses richer, while local business owners sweat it out!
Here’s the payoff: I’ve given you multiple ways to increase traffic into Downtown Oakland. We have also increased the revenues of all the entrepreneurs who risk their capital to open businesses in Oakland. Now of
course, you will say, “We’ll loose money!” Let’s go back to Free, The Future of a Radical Price. Here’s the deal:who is helped by having thousands of people spending money in Downtown Oakland?
Oakland, first and foremost. You encourage people to support the city, rather than waiting for them to pay years of old parking tickets. Larger numbers of people in Downtown Oakland help landlords, business owners, and
tax revenues for the city.
Creative, radical tactics and a pro-business climate help Oakland to build, rather than exuding an anti-business atmosphere. Yes, you are new to the job. You have been mayor only months, not years, but—Change! Give us
something radical!
Waiting for citizens to make mistakes to earn revenues is not the way of the future. We need to be more progressive than that.
Please don’t Boot My Car for writing this article. Visit Oakland, it’s an incredible city, America!
Story Features
Environment
Food
Daily Image
Recent comments
Development
Identity
Arts & Education
Join Our Mailing List
Sign up for Oakland freebies, discounts & exclusive stories 2X a month.
Pro bono web design grant provided by TechScouts
Clarification: I assume you mean the sign said no parking after 12am Sunday morning. What street was this? I thought most of that area was no parking after 2am. Something in your story don't smell right.
Jonathan, there is no compelling reason to be in downtown Oakland in the middle of the day. There is nothing there for the people who would be free to do so. What is a parent going to do with their child in downtown Oakland at 2pm. To be honest, your plan lacks one critical element - businesses. Ma and Pa don't want to take junior to the Pot Farm known as Oaksterdam, not what one would call a family outing.
I will agree with you Oakland customer service leaves a lot to be desired. One could probably reduce spending and increase efficiencies just by bringing Oakland's customer service into 20th century. Imagine what could happen if we managed to bring it into the 21st century. Is there an app for that?
Emeryville does not have an abundance of free parking - you people need to stop telling these lies.
Monica I believe you are missing the point. There will never BE a compelling reason to be downtown at any time of the day if the City doesn't get creative and start attracting patrons and businesses. Roving patrols of boot cops and meter maids isn't going to do it. Creative ways to create critical mass during the day and night is vital and necessary for many reasons.
Also as a person that frequently goes to Emeryville to shop, I can attest that they have much better parking options than Oakland, even if it's not free, and most of the time it might as well be. For example I can park in the parking structure at Bay Street, by a $1.25 biscotti from Barnes & Nobles and get parking validation for 2 hours, versus paying $2 an hour on the street or $2 every half an hour at many downtown parking structures. As a person that has racked up a pretty penny in parking tickets in Oakland, that sounds like a hell of a bargain!
Denise,
Right now there is nothing in downtown Oakland and no reason to frequent downtown Oakland. It is not the job of the city to attract patrons. It is the job of the city to create an environment where businesses can grow and flourish. You do this people will flock to the downtown.
You only get a parking ticket when either you underpay your insurance (the meter) or ignore the time. I am not exactly symapthetic to anyone who fails to understand the basics of insurance and time management.
Its really emabarassing that for a large city Oakland does NOT have a shopping street like Emerybay or Santana Row. Part of the problem is such a critical mass project requires a large parcel of land. Its doable if a large parcel has a single owner. But when there are several owners, unless all play ball you will NOT get anywhere.
Take a look at Auto Row. I proposed doing a factory outlet mall there to the city.
These parcel owners want top dollar. By the time a developer like the Simon Gp acquires the land, it doesnt make economic sense.
If you did a simple analysis a factory outlet mall in Auto Row or in Jack London makes sense. You will attract tourists from SF who can BART over and residents of surrounding cities.
The city commissioned some expensive master plan that only the city planners and bureaucrats support to cover their ass. No one implements so you have one stupid study after another.
There is no economic development czar brave enough to execute.
Also did you know that the Jack London re-developmnet sits idle.
Oakland bureaucrats love to talk, commission studies, and not think outside the box. These bureaucrats just want to keep their jobs and get a fat pension. So they justify their jobs with fines, fees and more fees.
You ever try getting a biz started and go thru the permit process? To open a restaurant the city will drag you at least 6 - 9mos with inspections and ridiculous fees BEFORE you can open your doors! You have inspectors who make arbitrary calls on what is permissable or what isnt.
In Oakland the mentality is 'Oh I'm gonna drag you and ransom you as much as possible' when it should be 'Oh let's see how we can HELP you get your biz up and running quickly.'
Is it a wonder that after 25 years we are still waiting for retail to happen downtown? Well it wont happen in our life time...I guarantee it!
I do not agree. Cities that have taken active roles in attracting both businesses and patrons have flourished. I just came back from returning something in Emeryville, where I turned right around and purchased something else. If your belief was the case, government officials on all levels wouldn't travel outside of their jurisdictions to attract tourism dollars, which happens all the time. Also just because you open your doors doesn't mean people will come in, just ask the small business that ARE downtown. The city has as much vested interest in bringing in people to all areas of Oakland as any other business does.
As for your sympathy it is not warranted nor needed. Better policy, management, and image control for Oakland is.
Denise,
You are missing the point. Government's role is to create the conditions to allow business flourish. This takes a variety of forms from creating policy to then wooing businesses when those policies have been created. What government can not do is lay the brick, buy to product, hire the employee and sell to the consumer. That was my point.
The elected official of a city, county, state etc can attract tourism dollars when there is a there. There is no there in downtown Oakland. Open your eyes and look around - an some eyeglass shops, cleaners, Oaksterdam, a ghetto Sears, Grillz, a half dozen wig stores, more surface parking lots than you I and have fingers and toes combined, 3 adult videa stores. And a number of empty storefronts. Nothing in this list is reason enough for anyone to travel to downtown on a regular basis.
Excluding the stores selling products that not a vast majority of people want the biggest issue with downtown retail is it exist in isolation. There is a juniors store by The Paramount but where else are you going to to compare products. Despite having quality products, the furniture store on Telegraph would benefit from having more stores. Stores would also benefit from national chains that are able to do advertising. The local, smaller stores become free riders.
I want a thriving downtown as much as the next person but the too many Oakland residents and elected officials lack the capacity to do this. Focusing on social programs is not going to grow the economy.
If sympathy is not wanted and needed why complain about parking and tickets like the city has done something wrong to you. What about the wrong you have done to your fellow residents - hogging a parking spot while others must drive around the block polluting the air and possibly leaving the area without buying anything because you thought you should be able to park for as long as you like to buy a $1.25 biscotti. Yeah, that really helps Cafe Madrid.
Government has a big impact on the vitality of a city's growth, future and business envioronment to help but not to destroy. Oakland has become too punitive versus being creative and anytime you have a city intent on creating revenues from parking tickets; eventually you become a city that does not grow
Oakland should be open to helping entrepreneurs, business owners and retailers by changing the climate that robs people from visiting Downtown Oakland. It's shameless that we are known only for being the city that wants to open cannibus clubs to help raise tax dollars. Oakland is known for crime, cannibus clubs and city leaders need to change that perspective FAST! The city is marketed incorrectly versus showcasing its true identity.
Oakland is sandwiched between San Jose/Silicon Valley and San Francisco that gives it an awesome avenue to create its own niche. Oakland has so many creative, talented and incredible artists. Oakland has a talented jobforce and internet people that would love to call Oakland home if you had leadership that was intent on building, helping and being creative versus finding ways to be punitive with unreasonable taxes and chumped up parking fines.
We elected a new mayor, we need more creative plans to help the city versus the same ol stuff of past leaders.
Great points shared by all, I hope Oakland's leadership responds in a positive way!
Jonathan Fleming
"There is no economic development czar brave enough to execute" brillant statement Mr. Lim. Oakland lacks that "swag" needed in leadership and its leadership to really propel itself. There's some really gutsy entrepreneurs that are opening up restaurants, stores and other places that could benefit from a change in culture.
I think you captured a lot of complaints most business leaders and people looking towards Oakland fear which is a leadership that is not listening nor taking action.
Thanks for sharing...
Jonathan Fleming