The city is considering adding commercial lots to the program, which provides safe parking and amenities for people living in cars.
The Palo Alto city council voted to make its Congregation-Based Safe Parking Program permanent, reports Lauren Martinez for ABC 7. The program lets people living in their cars park in designated church parking lots overnight and access restrooms and other services. “The city said this year, 34 individuals were connected to housing from these sites.”
According to a city survey, 88 percent of unhoused people in Palo Alto were sleeping in vehicles in January 2023. The new rules allow the churches to let more cars use their space and increase available safe parking space for RVs in a separate lot.
FULL STORY: Palo Alto makes safe parking program at churches permanent to help unhoused population
Oakland Mayor, City Council Offer ‘Radically Different’ Plans for Reducing Homelessness
Mayor Barbara Lee wants to reduce encampment sweeps and focus on improving sanitation while city council members want to increase enforcement, particularly against illegally parked RVs.
Michigan Capital's $640K ‘Pod’ Homes for Homeless Residents not Approved for Winter Use
Lansing officials approved a plan to purchase 50 modular micro-housing units as emergency shelter for the city’s unhoused residents.
San Francisco Mayor Backtracks on Homelessness Goal
Mayor Dan Lurie ran on a promise to build 1,500 additional shelter beds in the city, complete with supportive services. Now, his office says they are “shifting strategy” to focus on prevention and mental health treatment.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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