Come, let us reason together. Here’s what’s been said about our
downtown so far
…
Come, let us reason together. Here’s what’s been said about our downtown so far …
THE CITY
Some elected by the people to act for the people. Some hired by the elected. Some hired by the hired.
Gathered information by paying an out-of-town firm to do a study. Looked at the downtowns in Los Gatos and Mountain View to see what others have done. Created (hand picked) a Task Force made up of business owners, residents and city workers.
Concluded that parking down town is not a problem. And, even if it were, statistics show that people are willing to walk a _ of a mile to get to places where they want to go.
Say that we need to focus on the future. That we want our downtown to grow into a user friendly market place with an adequate mix of housing, office and retail.
DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES
Some here 40 years, some just arrived. All trying to make a living through merchandising and marketing a useable product.
Gather information by being “in the field” day in and day out. Watch customers circling for parking spots and hear their stories. Watch as construction workers and new businesses (collection agency with 80 employees) overrun parking spots that are supposed to be reserved for customers.
Attend Task Force meetings, Downtown meetings, General Plan meetings and City Council meetings to gather information and wait for a chance to speak.
Don’t want to lose the Lewis Street parking lot.
Want to know where the clients of the health clinic will park since the promised “in back” parking lot was turned into a lunch patio for employees instead.
Concerned about income when the city closes down Fourth to Sixth street for a whole year to fix Monterey’s zigs and zags. (And, they wonder how far the ladies bowling team will have to lug their bowling balls when the street is closed and parking is at least a _ mile away. Businesses on the west side of Monterey will have parking spots behind them but the East side businesses will be out of luck.)
ME
An apolitical novice to the arena of city planning.
Shop, eat and drink coffee downtown. But, have been frequently spotted at the Outlets and the Big Box stores off 10th Street as well. Whenever possible, buy local; a couple of times, even when it cost more.
Gathered information by going to one Task Force meeting, emails and phone calls to city employees, skimmed the traffic analysis conclusions Hexagon Transportation Consultants submitted and walked the downtown streets to listen to retailers.
Concluded that the parking study isn’t backed up by reality, that there’s a disconnect between city fathers and local business owners, and, that if I wanted a Los Gatos or Mountain View downtown, I’d relocate.
Conflicted over Monterey’s reconstruction. On one hand, I’d like to see the beautification process begun south of Sixth Street continue to First Street. On the other hand, I don’t see how downtown businesses will survive for the year it’ll take to straighten out Monterey between Fourth Street and Sixth. Especially if city council approves the Garlic Festival switch-a-roo and we lose the Lewis Street parking lot.
And – in case anyone’s interested in vague undercurrents – after getting just slightly involved, I sense there’s an invisible agenda at work somewhere in City Hall.
Call it political paranoia if you’d like, but it sure feels like a group of anonymous someones have decided who and what and when and where things should be in the core of our city. Eminent domain, building restrictions, lack of parking and a deaf ear are being used to get rid of those who don’t quite fit the image.
READERS
Look at the draft of the Downtown Specific Plan. It’s online at the city of Gilroy Web site or you can see it at City Hall.
Attend a meeting – ouch! – I know you didn’t want to hear that.
If you use our downtown, talk to the people who live and work there now. Ask them how they feel about the changes that are being planned. Ask your favorite businesses if there’s anything you can do to help.
If I’d been on the Task Force for the last two years, I’d hate like heck to have concerned citizens come in at the last minute and start questioning conclusions. However, if we don’t ask now we’ll have no business complaining later.
