Lake Poway parking relief on horizon
Lake Poway parking congestion relief may be coming.
The Poway City Council on Tuesday night discussed the ongoing problems associated with the popular destination’s parking lot and gave city staff some suggestions on how the situation might be improved.
Although no final decisions were reached during the workshop session, the council appeared to favor adding up to 91 more spaces that would be created by filling in blank areas along the sides of the park’s driveways. At $150,000, it was the least-expensive of four options presented by city staff and the one generating the most extra parking.
Whether the new spaces would be added all at once or phased in was debated but not resolved. Councilman David Grosch advocated for adding fewer spaces so that six mature trees would not have to be removed.
Robin Bettin, community services director, said that the lake’s 390 spaces are usually full every weekend between March and November. She estimated that approximately 70 percent of the visitors are hikers and said that she would recommend that all 91 new spaces be built at the same time.
The council kicked around a couple of ideas on how to draw more attention to the lake’s auxiliary parking lot, including improved signage. Councilman Jim Cunningham even suggested offering valet parking there, at a premium rate.
All four councilmembers backed a separate recommendation that a turn-around be constructed just past the entry booth for use by motorists who encounter a full lot. That work will cost $21,000.
In other business, the council:
• Approved a tentative parcel map and related documents to divide 33.8 acres on the west and east sides of Millards Road at Poway Road into three lots ranging in size from eight to 10.3 net acres and permitting construction of a 9,700-square-foot home on one of the lots. The owner is William Bourgeois.
• Informally supported plans by Verizon Wireless to build a faux tree antenna and related equipment on the campus of Abraxas High School, 12450 Glenoak Road.
• Heard a report from Councilman Jim Cunningham on last weekend’s annual Winter Festival. The two-day event drew an estimated 12,000 people, he said, including 500 members of the special needs community.
• Were told that applications are now available on the city’s website for up to 12 positions on the ad-hoc committee for the Poway Road Corridor Study Project. The committee will meet at least eight times over the next 18 months and will be holding two community meetings. Poway residents, business owners, a land use and design professional, a transportation planner, a housing professional and a commercial broker are among the kinds of backgrounds being sought. The deadline to apply is Jan. 29. The city has hired a consultant to make recommendations regarding the future of the city’s major retail district.
The next regular council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
