After years of inertia, Gilroy’s downtown is moving forward.
It’s great to see spiffy new lampposts, an invitingly wide street,
new awnings, splendid sidewalks and, the topper, open parking
spaces.
After years of inertia, Gilroy’s downtown is moving forward. It’s great to see spiffy new lampposts, an invitingly wide street, new awnings, splendid sidewalks and, the topper, open parking spaces.
One can actually head downtown for lunch or to buy flowers and find a place to put a vehicle. It’s amazing what a city parking citation policy can do.
Let’s make no mistake about what’s happened downtown. It’s a transformation – not complete yet, but clearly in progress. For years, the city ignored the downtown, focusing all its considerable energies and wealth on the sales tax bearing outlet mall and outlying big box stores. Finally, the pendulum has swung a bit to downtown, the place that really defines a community.
Our downtown is far from perfect, but it’s no longer a wholesale embarrassment. There are signs everywhere pointing to a healthy revival. Housing developments, new business investment like the Pinnacle Bank and the Garlic Festival building and a palpable sense that a complete turnaround is on the way.
Next weekend on Saturday, May 19 from 3 to 9pm, a celebration of the downtown dubbed “All Dressed up and Ready to Go” marks the kickoff event for a slew of summer downtown events.
If you’ve avoided downtown like the plague, mark the calendar and come on down for a look-see at the extensive makeover.
There will be arts and crafts for the children on May 19. Local restaurants and wineries will be on hand to provide sustenance and refreshment and merchants will showcase their wares. It’s the perfect time to stroll the widened sidewalks, have a coffee or a glass of wine and see up close what’s been going on downtown.
The $4.1-million renovation is nearly complete and the memories of street closures and jackhammers will soon be gathering dust as more and more people bustle about Monterey Street doing what we’ve hoped for all along: shopping and conducting business.
Give Mayor Al Pinheiro his due on this issue. He spearheaded the resurgence of downtown and delivered on a key campaign promise to re-direct city energy, effort and cash to help revive the dilapidated city core.
The results are impressive.
The key is to sustain the city’s focus on the re-birth by lending a hand with expertise and policies that encourage vitality and new business. There are a host of events this summer. Enjoy Gilroy’s new downtown. The hard work has been worth it.
