Open Mill Valley / Remove the Blockade / Fairness to all Residents

During the heart of the Covid lockdown, the City of Mill Valley began closing downtown Miller Ave to support outdoor dining. This experiment continues to cause significant hardship to the retail businesses located inside the ‘blockade’. These retailers suffer a loss of their street parking and impeded store access from Thursday through Sunday. Meanwhile, all downtown merchants and residents face traffic delays, loss of parking and confusion. Many residents and visitors simply elect to avoid downtown on the weekend all together.

This petition has become necessary because the City has bypassed normal process and made these decisions without adequate community input. While we all support our downtown restaurants, Mill Valley should now follow other cities by allowing temporary ‘Covid parklets’, (like the one in front of Piazza D’Angelo), but not a blockade of the street on the busiest days for retailers.

It is time to end an effort that favors only two downtown businesses while harming others. Furthermore, future decisions around changes to downtown zoning, including Covid measures and traffic flow, must be taken through the normal process with minutes and open hearings, like all other City business. We ask the City to end the blockade, returning the street to normal access and traffic flow.