StreetScape
Downtown SR: After several tries on their own, merchants look to national model for help revitalizing business district .
Links: National Main Street Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation, California Main Street
Downtown planners unveil draft
The computer drawing shows Laurel Street, west of Main Street,
where design planners have proposed a commons, or public gathering place.
Removeable bollards would block traffic during events. A final vision plan
for the area will be partly determined by a new traffic study. Drawing provided.
Thursday, August 23, 2001 8:22 AM MS
By NEIL BOYLE/Of the Advocate
The principal planners working on a redesign of downtown Fort Bragg unveiled their draft concepts Monday night at Town Hall and received a round of applause for their efforts to date. About 30 persons, mostly downtown merchants, attended the two-hour meeting and provided further ideas on the direction of the plan.
Al Zelinka and Susan Jackson of Urban Design Studio opened with a slide show of mostly before-and-after photos and computer drawings incorporating many ideas gleaned during a week-long session of walking tours and public workshops earlier this summer. Some of those ideas remain a bone of contention especially the plan to develop a community event commons on Laurel Street next to Town Hall, the Guest House Museum and the Skunk Train Depot between merchants on either side of Main Street.
The planners also distributed a comment worksheet with the photos and drawings. Copies are available at City Hall and residents may submit their comments to Community Development Director Linda Ruffing before Sept. 14.
Within the next two months, the planners expect to complete new traffic circulation and parking studies, shape a final vision plan and put price tags on different components of the redesign. They will also help develop implementation teams, whose aim will be to push individual components forward.
Zelinka said he's also recommending to the manufacturers of streetscape furniture that they donate a number of items street lamps, benches, trash receptacles, street banners for display prior to purchase. "You can try it before you buy it," he added.
Franklin and Laurel
Zelinka outlined the proposal for Franklin Street, which he called "the heart, soul, grit of what Fort Bragg is all about." The plan calls for a midblock crosswalk made shorter by curb bulb-outs on both sides of the street. The bulb-outs will eliminate four parking spaces but the trade-off is a better and more inviting public environment, he said.
Laurel Street too "cries out for bulb-outs, public art and a gathering spot. It's one of the gateways to Franklin Street, it's that hook to pull people up (the street) that aren't locals, and to help the businesses develop and prosper on Franklin Street," Zelinka said. Throughout the downtown area, small kiosks and pedestrian maps are also recommended. "The more little, discreet, subtle directories, the more likely it is people will patronize your downtown. They'll want to adventure out," he added.
Zelinka noted that heritage tourism is the No. 1 segment of the U.S. tourism industry and suggested the city consider its own "Heritage Trail." The walking trail could be painted onto the sidewalk conveniently guiding interested visitors past downtown shops on their way to historical plaques, he said. Fort Bragg is undoubtedly replete with little-known historical sites, he added. As an example, he noted that nearby the intersection of Redwood and McPherson streets is an area in which Chinese railroad laborers lived.
Depot Commons
A proposal to develop Laurel Street beside Town Hall into a commons, or public gathering spot, generated the most discussion. It calls for widened sidewalks, decorative paving and removable street bollards which could be used to close traffic. Zelinka emphasized that the future of this idea rests partly on the results of a new traffic circulation study.
Franklin Street business owner Gayle Bowman said the area is not a good place for public activities due to traffic concerns and its proximity to the highway. She noted when it's been shut down for past events it required police officers to direct traffic and pedestrians. She suggested a commons would be better suited on Franklin Street near City Hall. "Don't tamper with the Main drag," she added.
Weaver said losing parking spaces adjacent to Town Hall is unacceptable, given the building's regular use for meetings at night and during rainy weather. Another speaker disagreed, saying the wide sidewalks would help draw visitors from the train depot up Laurel Street.
Options including parking, or parking on one side of the street, are possible, Zelinka said. Again, the new traffic and parking studies will help everyone make more informed decisions for the final vision plan, he added.
Later in the meeting, Zelinka asked for guesses as to how many downtown parking spaces are available more than half of the hands raised when he proposed 500 or less. The right answer is 649 spaces, he said, emphasizing that a key to implementing many of the design proposals rests on getting people to use public parking lots. Vice Mayor Michele White, who's also a Franklin Street business owner, said most people won't walk more than a few storefronts.
Zelinka said he hears similar comments from merchants in every downtown. "But when you make it convenient, or perceived to be convenient, they'll walk," he said. White noted that the lot at Purity Market is nearly always empty despite its proximity to downtown shops. In response, Zelinka showed a slide of parking signs in downtown Eureka depicting a large "P" inside a circle. Motorists will readily identify and respond to clear parking signage, he added.
Banners
The draft plan suggests street banners on spaced light poles; at the bottom of each, the city could advertise its Website address as a marketing strategy. Zelinka said a small Mississippi city did this and its Website "hits" increased within months from an average of 1,400 to 10,000.
Planning Commission Chair Mary Weaver, noting the plan also calls for increased signage to parking, shopping and sight-seeing areas, suggested that adding street banners might be "too much." Zelinka said the banners would have to be properly spaced to avoid a "visual plague."
Planters
One woman suggested that individual areas of the downtown should be able to express their uniqueness, possibly through different treatment of the street banners or tree planters. Zelinka said the pots should remain a unifying element but that creativity with them is an option. He suggested that Laurel Street pots, for example, might be decorated by artists and donated to the city with a identification plaque, or possibly sold, the proceeds used to fund other aspects of the redesign.
In his closing comments, Zelinka urged participants to "embrace what you love but allow others to embrace those things they love." He and Jackson planned to meet with several local organizations this week to gather further comments on the draft plan.
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