“A whole lotta lots” 24/7 safe parking sites in Mountain View to begin operation

SAN JOSE - The County of Santa Clara and the City of Mountain View have opened Shoreline Amphitheatre’s Lot “B” as a safe parking site operating 24 hours a day. The site can accommodate up to 30 vehicles.

The site had previously been available for overnight safe parking use only. In addition, the County and the City of Mountain View are working to extend the hours of a former Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) lot from overnight only to 24/7 safe parking, and open a lot owned by Palo Alto Housing for 24/7 safe parking during the COVID-19 crisis. These two additional lots could accommodate more than 40 additional vehicles.

“While not a long-term solution, safe parking allows residents to have stability in where they sleep each night while they seek permanent housing. This stability is critically important, now more than ever,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who noted the need to identify more sites, find a way to keep them open 24/7 and connect local non-profits with the insurance coverage they needed to get the job done.

Through a lease with the City of Mountain View, Live Nation Entertainment, who operates the Shoreline Amphitheatre facility, has agreed to allow the City and County to use the Shoreline lot year-round for safe parking.

Further, the City of Mountain View has authorized the use of a former VTA lot and a lot owned by Palo Alto Housing for 24/7 safe parking during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Unhoused residents are among the most vulnerable to infection during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Simitian. “I’m so pleased we are able to partner with the City of Mountain View during these challenging times.”

Background

In January of this year, Simitian noted the need to identify more sites, find a way to keep them open 24/7 and connect local non-profits with the insurance coverage they need to get the job done.

“Before you can have an effective, successful safe parking program you’ve got to identify the sites. It’s just that simple, and it’s just that hard,” said Simitian at the time.

At the beginning of March, Simitian announced plans for a concerted effort to seek out “A Whole Lotta Lots” by working with local property owners willing to rent out unused lots for use as “safe parking” lots in Mountain View and Palo Alto. As a part of that effort, several milestones were met, including partnerships with private and public stakeholders, and the establishment of a year-round 24/7 lot.

Since that time, several milestones were successfully met: 

• Simitian’s office partnered with the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce to reach out to members about hosting safe parking, including via four information sessions;
• Simitian’s office also partnered with the Mountain View Human Relations Commission on outreach to businesses;
•  Several businesses and faith organizations expressed interest in working together on safe parking, in both Palo Alto and Mountain View. Simitian’s office continues to work with them to set up lots at some of these sites;
• The City of Palo Alto identified possible safe parking sites on public land, and is working with the County to stand up a 24/7 site;
• The City of Mountain View leased the Shoreline lot to the County to operate as a 24/7 site;
• Live Nation, who operates the Shoreline Amphitheatre facility, agreed to allow the City and County to use the Shoreline lot year-round for safe parking; and
• The City of Mountain View has authorized the use of a former VTA lot and a lot owned by Palo Alto Housing for 24/7 safe parking during the COVID-19 crisis and the City and County have allocated funds to expand the program to include these sites.

Though the month of March has come and gone, the search for suitable lots for use as safe parking lots continues. “The onset of COVID-19 crisis has undeniably made this effort more challenging, even as it has undeniably made this effort more urgent,” said Simitian.

If you or someone you know owns an unused or under-used property that could be a potential site for safe parking please call (408) 299-5050, email [email protected]