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Why spend $15 million without addressing parking?

June 12, 2014

In Pat Coluzzi’s recent letter, she correctly states that the city via its streets and transportation committee has on numerous occasions discussed traffic and parking in the City of Rehoboth Beach. However, although discussion has been had over the years, an additional simple parking solution has been ignored.

The Comprehensive Development Plan is great in theory, the practical application is tricky.

Many try to hide behind the CDP as to why solutions to problems cannot be addressed. Many of our elected officials will drive their cars for a few blocks versus riding a bike or walking. Support of the city’s CDP must start with our elected officials. We cannot educate our visitors about the CDP as they circle around Rehoboth Avenue looking for parking.

I have an MBA in finance and 20 years experience studying financial statements and projections. The parking study completed in 2007 was well done, and in fact did show that a parking garage with 413 parking spaces as studied and suggested was financially feasible. Fast forward seven years and as interest rates have been cut in half from the time of the study, the project is probably even more financially feasible than it was seven or eight years ago. I am sure that Pat’s background is not in the parking industry and as such, I feel that we should defer to people who possess this expertise rather than rely on opinions of people with expertise in other fields.

I agree with Pat’s comment, that we should be spending “$9 million that could be more wisely invested on infrastructure projects that are truly needed and would benefit residents, businesses and visitors alike.” It is for this reason that I am against spending $15 million on a new City Hall in it proposed form. I think that Pat might agree that this expense is not truly needed, and does not benefit residents or visitors. It is wasteful government spending in it proposed form.

Lastly, I would like to answer Pat Coluzzi’s question, “Why is he trying to reverse our success and worsen our traffic problem by bringing more cars downtown?”

Pat, providing an additional parking solution for the City of Rehoboth will not attract more traffic. When is the last time that anyone traveled to a destination to visit a parking garage as an attraction? Rehoboth’s attraction is the beach, the Boardwalk and its excellent businesses, not a parking garage. Face it Pat, the traffic is here; don’t delude yourself. This rationale has been argued for the past 20 years as traffic continues to worsen. I will work to address this issue when I am elected mayor of Rehoboth Beach.

Thomas McGlone
candidate for Mayor of Rehoboth Beach

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