New SLO parking structure features variety of safety measures after deadly falls

Editor’s note: This story mentions suicide.

Bill and Mary Jodry have been advocating for safer parking structures in San Luis Obispo since their son fatally fell from a downtown garage over six years ago.

Now, with the reveal of the new Cultural Art District Parking Structure, the city is starting to implement the changes.

Thomas Jodry was 21 when he died after falling from the third floor of the Marsh Street parking garage in September 2019.

At least four other people have died in falls from parking structures in SLO since 2013, three of which were ruled suicides, according to The Tribune’s past reporting.

Thomas Jodry’s death was also originally ruled a suicide, but the Sheriff’s Office later changed its findings to show that his manner of death “could not be determined.”

In 2020, his parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against David Allen Knight, who had been drinking with Jodry before he died, but the charges were dismissed by a SLO County Superior Court judge in 2023.

“I miss my son so very much,” Mary Jodry told The Tribune over coffee.

She’s often been asked why she hasn’t sued the city of SLO, she said, to which her answer is always the same:

“Honestly, it’s not going to bring my son back, and I don’t want any money for his life,” Mary said. “I just want to make those parking structures safer.”

Bill and Mary have routinely asked for more security cameras, emergency call boxes, nighttime guards and fuller window fencing.

After years of speaking to the SLO City Council and meeting with local, state and federal representatives in an effort to raise funds, the changes are being implemented, starting with the opening of the new structure at the corner of Palm and Nipomo streets.

The $43 million building opened March 17 with safety built into its design, including wide-angle cameras on every floor and emergency call boxes on every level near access points, San Luis Obispo city spokesperson Whitney Szentesi told The Tribune.

“It’s genius what they did over there,” Bill said of the new five-story garage, specifically referencing the security fencing over the open air windows.

There are more call boxes that are “very apparent,” he said. And the top level’s “huge” chain-link fence surrounds the entire perimeter to prevent falls.

“These safety features are for everybody in this community,” Mary said.

Safety improvements are coming to existing garages, too

Now, the Jodrys are hoping to see the promised improvements be made to SLO’s three other parking structures, which the city said are in the works.

The structure across from Hotel SLO on Palm Street opened in 1988, while the Marsh Street garage opened in 1990 and expanded in 2002. The city’s third parking structure, on Palm Street next to the library, opened in 2006.

Currently, cameras are only placed at the vehicle entrances and exits in the older garages, and there is no top floor fencing.

The goal is for the added safety features to be consistent with the Cultural Arts District structure, Jennifer Rice, the city’s deputy director of mobility services, told The Tribune.

“With the adoption of the current budget, the City Council prioritized funding to enhance safety in the city’s three existing parking garages,” Szentesi said. “This includes installing security fencing along the entire rooftop perimeter at all three parking structures and security cameras with placement focused on corridors.”

The city has $1.5 million budgeted for the project, which is currently in the design phase, Rice said. Construction is expected to begin next summer.

One of the hold-ups on the project has been city zoning regulations that capped the height of the parking garages, but the city approved an ordinance to exempt public safety projects from the rules on Nov. 18. The ordinance made the addition of safety fencing on the top floor of existing parking structures possible.

The city has also already installed additional lighting in the garages and suicide hotline resource signs for those in crisis and added parking ambassadors to enhance safety over the past year, Szentesi said.

Parking ambassadors and maintenance workers routinely patrol the parking garages until 9 p.m. on Monday and Tuesdays and 2:30 a.m. all other days, Rice said. They are trained to observe and immediately report any safety issues or hazards.

An increased police presence downtown also allows for quick response to calls for service in the parking structures, including for removal of non-customers, Rice said. Garages also undergo routine maintenance for structural soundness.

“Safety is a high priority as the city works to improve security, maintenance and comfort in all downtown parking garages,” Szentesi said. “It’s important for the community to know that the city continues to make safety improvements beyond what is required and that our parking garages meet or exceed all building and safety standards.”

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 988. You can also call the Central Coast Hotline at 800-783-0607 for 24-7 assistance. To learn the warning signs of suicide, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org

This story was originally published March 29, 2026 at 11:00 AM.

Chloe Shrager

The Tribune

(805) 781-7809

Chloe Shrager is the courts and crimes reporter for The Tribune. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in Political Science. When not writing, she enjoys surfing, backpacking, skiing and hanging out with her cat, Billy Goat.