GILROY
– A three-day workshop has produced a number of ideas for
revitalizing downtown, the most unexpected of which is a
recommendation to bring the Gilroy Garlic Festival to Monterey
Street.
GILROY – A three-day workshop has produced a number of ideas for revitalizing downtown, the most unexpected of which is a recommendation to bring the Gilroy Garlic Festival to Monterey Street.
A city-hired consultant from RRM Design Group, Mark Brodeur, says his firm was “appalled” and “surprised” that Gilroy’s most high-profile event was not held on its main street.
”We strongly suggest the Garlic Festival be moved downtown,” Brodeur said. ”If 40,000 to 50,000 people can fit on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Monterey Street can handle a large venue, too.”
The Garlic Festival, which enters its 26th year in 2004, is traditionally held at Christmas Hill Park. Roughly 125,000 people visit the festival each year for food, music and other entertainment, raising questions regarding whether it’s possible to bring the venue to Monterey Street.
”I don’t see it logistically working,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said after the Saturday wrap-up session. ”But the Garlic Festival has their own board and organization, so I’m not going to tell them what to do.”
For Brodeur, the idea makes perfect sense. Downtown can never be the heart of Garlic Town if its namesake world famous event was held on the city’s outskirts.
RRM Design Group also wants city leaders to consider scrapping the median-lined streetscape style on Monterey. The current streetscape phases, from Sixth to Eighth streets, has a decorative median running down Monterey.
The firm says a more pedestrian friendly atmosphere can be achieved without a median. Diagonal parking spaces were recommended since they would allow for more cars.
The next streetscape phase has not been funded. It would run from Third to Sixth streets.
Brodeur spent Saturday afternoon with city staff, city officials, Monterey Street merchants and other downtown business interests at the Strand Theatre. The session highlighted the many comments and recommendations brought forward by those groups Thursday and Friday last week regarding a future Downtown Specific Plan.
Brodeur praised city of Gilroy officials for being one of the more proactive staffs he’s worked with.
Within the last several months, the city has reduced impact fees for downtown developers, lowered the number of parking spaces required per business and changed zoning rules to allow for mixed use properties.
”All of the things they’re doing are the right things to do,” Brodeur said. ”It’s time now for the private sector to step up.”
Brodeur’s firm is recommending that the city hire or appoint a downtown ombudsman, who would be the one person on city staff developers go to when processing their projects.
”The ombudsman is the vision keeper,” Brodeur said. ”It’s his full-time job to care and feed downtown.”
Currently, Gilroy employs a similar person, Bill Lindsteadt, for overall economic development in the city.
Brodeur encouraged city leaders to continue their effort toward forming a business improvement district for downtown. The district would tax merchants and the proceeds would fund things such as an ombudsman.
Among other suggestions, Brodeur’s group said business hours should be extended in the downtown at least one night a week until 8 p.m. In theory, the one-day-a-week extension would make Monterey Street “the place to be” on a particular night.
RRM Design Group also recommends capitalizing on Monterey Street’s proximity to a Caltrain station. Brodeur said their wasn’t enough businesses near the depot serving commuters.
”Other cities would give their right arm for that,” Brodeur said. ”We don’t see you trying to capture that.”
RRM Design Group sketched out a version of the downtown that includes a ”cannery district,” an area that would be its own enclave of shops and restaurants.
”I don’t think you did any dreaming with this. It’s a practical approach,” downtown property owner John Gurries told Brodeur.
Other suggestions from RRM Design Group include:
• Increasing the pedestrian and delivery truck use of downtown alleyways
• Changing the perception that downtown is unsafe
• Outlawing or stringently enforcing a uniform design for A-frame store shop signs
• Avoid setting street lights at too high or too low an intensity.
