Gilroy
– Outdoor music, a fountain and bronze sculptures may accent
Monterey Street as part of the city’s plans to remake its historic
downtown area.
Members of the Public Art Committee hope those additions will
lend some creative flare to plans for road and sidewalk
improvements between Sixth and Fourth streets.
Gilroy – Outdoor music, a fountain and bronze sculptures may accent Monterey Street as part of the city’s plans to remake its historic downtown area.
Members of the Public Art Committee hope those additions will lend some creative flare to plans for road and sidewalk improvements between Sixth and Fourth streets.
Three bronze sculptures touching on local history and garlic – the city’s agricultural mainstay for decades – top the list of creative ideas put forth by the committee.
“We’re working on three pedestal art pieces that will have a bronze sculpture on top, and on each section below we’ll have a plaque briefly explaining the history of the block,” said Arline Silva, an art committee member.
The statues will detail the history of a bank, a hotel and a stage-coach stop – a few cornerstones of Gilroy’s historic downtown. Silva added that the committee is thinking of topping the pedestals with “free form garlic-themed sculpture.”
“It’s been proven many times over that when you bring art into an area it enhances that area and attracts more businesses and residents,” Silva said. “In this case, it’s also going to help depict the history of the area.”
But the core of the area’s makeover involves major sidewalk and street repairs.
“The biggest difference that everybody will notice is that there will be angled parking and no median,” City Transportation Engineer Don Dey said.
Those plans represent a departure from the first two phases of the “streetscape” project, which involved creating a median and parallel parking along Monterey Street between Eighth and Sixth streets. The final phase will continue most elements of the earlier street work, including 15-foot-wide sidewalks, shade trees, decorative lampposts and crosswalks with inlaid lights.
Officials have yet to decide how closely they will match the finer details, such as the style of lampposts and tree types, between the upcoming and former phases.
Dey said the city is not sure, for instance, if it will continue with the diamond-shaped sidewalk palettes used in earlier phases, since city workers have complained of upkeep issues.
“Generically, we’re trying to stay the same,” Dey said, “but we’re trying to take a close look at how to minimize costs and maintenance.”
The latest phase of the “streetscape” project is made possible by a $2.5-million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Since receiving news of the award in November, city staff have worked on preliminary design plans and a construction schedule for the project, which is expected to last from January through October 2006. During that time, officials expect to shut down the entire length of Monterey Street between Fourth and Sixth streets. Officials are working with a marketing consultant to help sustain businesses during the nine-month construction period.
Dave Doshack and Bruce Ganzler, co-owners of Garbo’s Antiques & Collectibles at 7517 Monterey St., welcomed changes to the area in front of their business, but said more than cosmetics are needed to restore life to a street dotted with empty storefronts.
Doshack suggested the city look into creating public restrooms, a lack of which now deters some shoppers from coming to the area.
Ganzler said the city also must take pains to attract the right types of businesses.
“I think the art’s great, if there are restaurants,” Ganzler said. “The only way downtowns survive today is with restaurants, specialty shops. Retail’s gone to the malls.”
