The Pacific Beach model for drawing tourists – Letter to the editor

Letter to the editor – San Diego Union Tribune

The Pacific Beach model for drawing tourists

How interesting that La Jolla is going to begin advertising to attract more tourists, (La Jolla is aiming to attract visitors,” News, Nov. 30). It has always seemed to me that La Jolla is well populated with people buying things, as there are no derelict or shuttered stores along Prospect and the beautifully landscaped streets are always full of well-dressed and prosperous-looking shoppers. They must be prosperous: The stores, hotels, fine restaurants and galleries cater to customers willing and able to purchase quality merchandise and fine food.

The expense of advertising isn’t necessary, however. We in Pacific Beach have discovered a sure-fire way of dragging in more customers: We eagerly welcome alcohol licenses — 10 times the legal limit. Our bars, cantinas, pubs, bistros and fast-food outlets are thronged with young people devoted to drinking until they drop and then attempting to drive home.

There’s a big billboard at Ingraham and Garnet, our busiest intersection and gateway to our fun-in-the-sun town. It advertises a bail bond business. I wonder why it’s there and not in La Jolla. A few years ago, the police floated the idea of installing a detox facility in P.B. Their argument was sound: that’s where all the drunks are.

Granted, we have empty commercial properties and the streets are not particularly attractive. But we do have over a dozen tattoo parlors on Garnet Avenue, along with the highest crime rate and DUI arrest rate in San Diego. Recently, we had our own police helicopter hovering over our town, protecting us from all those thirsty visitors.

We don’t waste our money on advertising, but after last July 4th, the city spent over $750,000 to clean our beaches. We have our money priorities straight.

ALFRED C. STROHLEIN
Pacific Beach

Source: The San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Dec 9, 2004. pg. B.13