Broadway Plaza has long been one of the top shopping destinations in the Bay Area, and with it's recent $200+ million dollar renovation, we have seen it become even more amazing. After 3 long years of construction, the retailers and customers have endured some serious growing pains along the way. There is still a long way to go before it is completed, but starting September 12, 2016, Broadway Plaza's owner and operator Macerich will begin charging both employees and customers for parking. Employee parking will cost $40 per month, regardless of part-time or full-time status. Customers will get two hours of free parking, but the first hour of parking beyond the first two free hours will cost $3. Hours three and four of parking will cost $5, and hours four to five will cost $7. After five hours, they will be charged the daily maximum of $25. Many people feel that charging any amount for parking will deter customers from wanting to shop at Broadway Plaza at all. Retailers are also concerned about the financial hardship that this will put on their employees. 

From the comments section of East Bay News article 'Walnut Creek: Employees will pay to park at Broadway Plaza garages':  "There can't be anything that unique sold at this Broadway Plaza shopping center that can't be gotten elsewhere. Everyone should boycott that shopping center and maybe the management would get the hint!"

From the comments section of East Bay News'  'Walnut Creek: Broadway Plaza's paid parking plan annoys shoppers': "Knowing that a recession is coming our way, this is not a good plan for attracting shoppers to Broadway Plaza. The smaller shops should start filling out their bankruptcy petitions now so they are ready when shopping there dries up. Amazon Prime all the way."

"What this new program they have developed will do is seriously hurt shopping in the plaza and in the downtown area, and once people develop new habits (like ordering from Amazon Prime without even trying to shop locally) they might never return to shopping locally. This is a big mistake --- out of touch with the people who shop in Broadway Plaza and the downtown area. Essentially a project that was supposed to increase downtown parking is actually decreasing downtown parking spaces."

Make your voice heard and sign the petition today! I don't know how many signatures it will take to have an impact on the final decision, but send this out to everyone you know in the Bay Area and hopefully we can get enough signatures to make a difference! 

Contacts:

Broadway Plaza Management: (925) 939-7601

Macerich Corporate Headquarters 401 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700 Santa Monica, CA 90401(310) 394-6000

Macerich Public Relations Office 11411 N. Tatum Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85028-2399 (602) 953-6200

Media: (602) 953-6550