Harbor Island West Marina Skippers,
In our email notice two weeks ago, we shared with you that, starting last week our marina parking was going to be limited by some of the construction activity. Unfortunately, the parking was more impacted than what we had expected. Last Saturday was a very busy boating day and our parking lot was full by Noon. This created a hardship for some of our boaters, and I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience. Fortunately, Sunday was a much better day, and the parking was more manageable.
In moving forward to the rest of the summer there are some changes that we are making to improve your experience.
Changes Being Implemented
We are no longer permitting boat worker or vendor parking in our lot.
We will not be able to allow for boater’s guest parking for the balance of the summer.
Each weekend (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) we will have an employee at the main entrance to monitor cars for approved parking permits. Normally we only do this on holiday weekends but we now plan do make this a regular weekend measure.
We have instructed the General Contractor to consolidate their activities and move the fenced area to make room for more parking. This will add an additional 50 spaces from what we had last weekend. Attached is a site map of the parking lot illustrating the areas of the parking lot that are currently affected.
We have secured offsite parking for our employees and the employees of some of our building tenants. This should free up another 10 to 15 spaces for boater parking.
Potential Changes to be Implemented
We are working with the Port of San Diego to find and secure offsite parking on Harbor Island. In years past we have used offsite parking for 4th of July overflow parking. During those overflow parking times we arranged for van service to ferry our boaters to and from our lot. This option is not finalized yet and still needs approval, but we are hopeful to be able to offer something in August. We will have to confirm that in a subsequent email.
We are trying to find an area in our lot that we can designate as a drop off zone to allow boaters to drop off guests or supplies prior to parking.
Other Options to Consider
Park at Harbor Island Park. It is less than a block from our parking lot and it is a Port public parking lot. There are about 90 spaces in this lot but it does not allow for overnight parking so plan accordingly. It should also be noted that this can be a very busy lot during the summer so it can fill up by mid-day on a busy Saturday or Sunday.
Carpooling and ridesharing are always great ideas. It has come to our attention that some of our boaters have had success with parking at Liberty Station and riding over to the marina.
With a regular parking lot, we normally can allow boaters to use both of their parking stickers when they use their boat. During our project phase over the next year and a half we are going to have to ask our boaters to limit their parking lot use to one sticker. We appreciate your understanding on this.
We know how important access is during the busy summer boating season. While we’ve made improvements, we recognize there may still be peak times when the lot is full. We’re committed to monitoring the situation and making additional adjustments where possible.
Thank you for your continued patience and partnership as we work through this important phase of the marina’s improvement.
Staying in Touch:
Your feedback, questions and ideas are always welcome. We want to keep you informed every step of the way. It is our plan to provide monthly (if not more often) email updates specific to the project and to post this information on our website for you to refer to and check for updates. In addition, it is important to point out that the marina office is open 7 days a week and you are encouraged to stop by anytime if you have any questions. Don’t be bashful, we are here for you.