Stop the Heart of Alpharetta Parking Deck

We, the undersigned, would like the Alpharetta City Council to vote to build a westside downtown deck on the Milton Avenue/veterinarian adjacent site (hereinafter referred to as "Site D") and NOT on the Heart of Downtown/Old Roswell Street site (hereinafter referred to as "Site A") for the following reasons:

1. Building a deck at Site A is completely contrary to the City of Alpharetta Downtown Master Plan prepared by Kimley-Horn and Associates. This document states Site D is "...an excellent location along Milton Avenue, on the western edge of the central business district... A location along Milton Avenue not far from the intersection of Milton Avenue and Canton Street would be preferred..." (page 83). It further states that "The downtown district is intended to be the “most walkable area within Alpharetta..." (Page 89, italics added for emphasis).

2. The Site A Parking garage will commit Old Roswell Street to vehicular traffic for decades to come and eliminate future use of the area for pedestrians, festivals and gatherings.

3. It is not fiscally responsible. The project would exceed the 7.2 million budget allocated by building a deck on Site A and constructing a surface lot on Site D. Conversely, the City would be under budget by 1 million to leave Site A a surface lot and develop Site D as a deck.

4. The configuration of Site A will concentrate vehicle traffic to the center of downtown to the detriment of pedestrian safety. Site A's deck would have three separate entrances/exits and each of those entrances/exits would feed only ONE level of the deck. In theory, if you pull in to the lower level and there were no parking spaces, you would have to exit the deck and drive to another entrance to enter the deck again. Site D would have internal ramps and only one entrance and exit.

5. Site D will better serve downtown customers and businesses on Milton Avenue, Roswell Street, Canton Street. Site A will benefit fewer businesses who would still have the existing surface parking lot and the parking provided near City Hall.

6. The general public, through emails, phone calls and the public workshop held on Monday, September 19th, overwhelmingly supports building the deck on Site D and NOT on Site A.

For the compelling reasons listed above, we respectfully ask the Alpharetta City Council to vote no to Site A and yes to Site D.