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# Letter: Taking tourism elsewhere
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/letter-taking-tourism-elsewhere/
- Published: 2013-07-03T01:08:29.000Z
- Updated: 2024-12-03T21:25:45.000Z
- Author: Daniel Archuleta
- Tags: Letters, Opinion, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-06 13:37

![letter art](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/smdp-com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2024/07/letter-art-2.jpg)

Editor:

As an overseas visitor I've been taking vacations at Santa Monica for many years now, enjoying the relaxed, laid back, almost seaside town ambiance, but this year, for the first time, I feel more anxious than relaxed, too many cars, too many people, too much crime, and taking my life in my hands avoiding errant cyclists and skateboarders on the sidewalks and crosswalks.

I also used to enjoy shopping in Santa Monica Place, but now it's nothing more than an expensive designer label showcase for the rich and famous.

All the present discussion on high-rise development is only going to make things worse, too

Sorry Santa Monica, you've lost it. Goodbye.

George Philipson

Melbourne, Australia