With street parking spots in La Jolla seen as precious, the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board was tasked Jan. 20 with weighing the costs and benefits of granting spaces for valet service to two businesses.
The two proposals came from the La Jolla Cove Hotel & Suites and the soon-to-open Roseacre restaurant.
The T&T Board supported both requests, albeit with different circumstances.
La Jolla Cove Hotel & Suites
The hotel at 1155 Coast Blvd. is undergoing extensive renovations for the next 18 months, during which onsite parking will be largely unavailable, General Manager Cody Asselin said.
To avoid confusion and allow for consistent access to the hotel, Asselin requested a temporary valet zone at what is now a red curb. The hotel says the proposal got a green light from the city of San Diego since the zone is far enough from a crosswalk and a nearby fire hydrant.
The valet zone is to consist of 44 feet of curb space 20 feet south of the crosswalk on Coast Boulevard in front of the hotel. Cars dropped off in the zone would be parked in a nearby structure.
La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board members review a presentation from the La Jolla Cove Hotel & Suites about a proposed temporary valet parking zone during the hotel’s extensive renovations. (Noah Lyons)
The hotel has the capacity to accommodate 67 vehicles and averaged close to 40 vehicles a night last year. In an agreement with Ace Parking, it secured 40 spots during the construction period.
Once the renovations are completed, onsite parking will again be available, Asselin said.
T&T trustee Mary Soriano pointed out that the red zone is in a busy area near a popular U-turn spot on Coast Boulevard and across from parking for emergency vehicles. During the summer, she said, the street can be “a mess.”
Asselin acknowledged possible inconvenience but emphasized that the planned valet zone is “really just to allow guests somewhere to park.”
“We know it’s going to be messy,” he said. “And our goal is really to make it less messy because we know [that] in these situations before, hotel guests just leave their car and that car might sit in the red zone for an hour, two hours or whatever it is. … We’re trying to keep the traffic moving.”
Board Vice Chairman Dave Abrams made a motion to approve the request, and it passed nearly unanimously, with trustee Patrick Ryan abstaining because he works for a company that provides valet services.
Trustee Ross Rudolph said “I will vote for this only because it’s not taking away [available] parking spaces.” He added that he’s in favor of removing what he called “unnecessary” red zones.
Roseacre
Roseacre restaurant is the anchor tenant of a new two-story building replacing the original Adelaide’s flower shop at 7766 Girard Ave.
Roseacre is described as a “multi-venue, design-driven culinary destination” that also will include Holsem Coffee, Alley Bar and Sushi from Scratch. It is slated for an April opening.
General Manager John Prusinovski asked for four spots for a valet zone in evening hours, with the cars redirected to a nearby parking lot or structure. He said it would help relieve congestion on Girard Avenue.
“We are expecting up to 250 guests a night and we wanted to alleviate the street parking issues,” Prusinovski said. “Our goals in the end are going to be reduced traffic congestion … improved curb turnover [and having] vehicles removed from the street quickly.”
John Prusinovski, general manager of the upcoming Roseacre restaurant, discusses its valet parking proposal during the Jan. 20 La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board meeting. (Noah Lyons)
Prusinovski added that people will be able to use the valet service even if they aren’t dining at Roseacre.
Devin Otsuka, director of operations at Ace Parking, said four to six surface lots and garages are under consideration for parking the vehicles.
Though the board was open to surrendering public parking spaces after 5 p.m., members questioned the request for four.
“You’re asking for four parking spaces on Girard,” Soriano said. “And you’re actually on a lot that is a prime block of Girard as well. That’s a tough call.”
Abrams agreed, saying “I understand your desire, but … four spaces seems excessive.”
Rudolph called the request “not reasonable.”
Two motions were initiated — approval of two spaces and approval of three. The former failed on a 5-3 vote. The latter passed 5-3.
Trustee Bill Podway said the core problem isn’t parking, given the available surface lots and garages, but rather many people’s adverse reaction to paying for it. For upscale restaurants, that’s less of an issue, he said.
“People coming into a restaurant at these price points, they’re not going to Starbucks. … You’re not looking at an $8 cup of coffee, you’re looking at probably a $200-per-couple dinner.”
Next meeting: The La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board next meets at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Learn more at lajollacpa.org. ♦