Successful California examples of downtown street closures for public parks

[geof]

Hello all,

I am new to Cyburbia and its forums, but I thought I would throw out a question to see if any immediate thoughts came to mind.

Can anyone in California think of a good/successful example where a small- to medium- town closed a secondary street adjacent to a main downtown street to develop a public plaza.

One example that comes to mind is 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, but I am looking for other examples from cities or towns outside of the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area.

Thank you very much!

[Raf]

Hello all,

I am new to Cyburbia and its forums, but I thought I would throw out a question to see if any immediate thoughts came to mind.

Can anyone in California think of a good/successful example where a small- to medium- town closed a secondary street adjacent to a main downtown street to develop a public plaza.

One example that comes to mind is 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, but I am looking for other examples from cities or towns outside of the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area.

Thank you very much!

Welcome, glad I could do your homework assignment for you.

I guess the first question that comes to mind is why close the street? How many blocks, what is the purpose of the a plaza/park. Who will it serve? Will this effect businesses? If this is for either a) your senior project or b) you quarterly lab, I am sure you professors probably haven't thought this one through (they never did, trust me). And ask Professor Howard, she should know these things

Four small/med towns, outside of the large metro examples come to mind. Probably because we reuse them for proposals all the time, and probably because they were produced by one of your local private firms in the SLO area. I hope ChocolateChip and CJC can provide some more answers.

City of Oakdale-2nd Street Plaza/Community Center (pm me for more details, since I worked on the project)

City of Ojai Arcade Plaza

City of Modesto 10th Street Plaza

Solano County Civic Center Plaza, Fairfield

[geof]

Raf,

Thanks for the response.

[Raf]

No problem, but you would get better insight (and maybe better examples outside of CA) if you provided a little bit more insight to what you are trying to accomplish.

[geof]

Raf,

Your response is appreciated. I haven't spent any time in your neck of the woods in Stanislaus County. Examples in Oakdale and Modesto just don't come to mind. I'm at work right now, and I am busy. I was looking for a quick response for a meeting this evening.

My examples would come from places in the Northern Sacramento Valley, Sacramento, San Diego County, Orange County, some areas around the SF Bay Area, and some communities along the Central Coast.

Local examples in San Luis Obispo County that fit the parameters of my question are Mission Plaza in downtown SLO, and the closure of Front Street in Avila Beach.

If you didn't want to respond to my question, you didn't have to take time out of your day to do so. And you're right, I could have sent an email directly to Prof Howard to see if she had any thoughts on the matter, but I figured this 'forum' was an appropriate place for such a question requiring some thoughtfull responses.

Thanks,
Geof

P.S. Have you talked to Brett lately? Take care.

[Raf]

Holy Crap Geoff what's up! FB me already you $hithead and yes, we hung out this weekend in the City

No prob dude. I have pics of the Oakdale Plaza if you need them for your meeting. Email me at acastill@sbcglobal.net. I'll hook you up. Take care bro.

[Cardinal]

I can think of one in Gunnison, Colorado that works pretty well. It is a closure of a street between a school and a senior living complex.

[jass]

Fulton mall in downtown fresno is an ok example.

It attracts a mostly mexican crowd, you'll find very few white americans there outside of lunch hours during the weekday.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...38.68,,0,-2.11

[Raf]

Fulton mall in downtown fresno is an ok example.

It attracts a mostly mexican crowd, you'll find very few white americans there outside of lunch hours during the weekday.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...38.68,,0,-2.11

And what does this have to do with anything? "White" americans. Aren't we all Americans? You know not all brown people are Mexicans. The space is used right? Isn't that the point? God..closet racists.. while your at it, make sure to keep your hood in the drawer...

[wburg]

In Sacramento, the not-so-dirty little secret and the closest thing to a street closure success story is 11th Street, a portion of the greater "K Street Mall" project. It's really the one part of the K Street Mall, generally considered to be a decades-long boondoggle, that actually works. The street itself is mostly paved for pedestrians with planter boxes and "boxed" trees. There is a lot of shade. The street is located between two major landmarks--the California state capitol and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, once the two tallest buildings in the city. Uses on the block include a couple of cafes, two apartment buildings, office buildings, a convenience store, a bar/restaurant, a couple of retail stores, and a parking structure with retail storefronts. It's basically a textbook example of "mixed use."

[miha48]

Davis, CA closed 4th street i believe to create the now famous Davis Central Park, where they hold the Farmers Market. If you want to look it up just search Mark Francis, he is the designer.

[jass]

And what does this have to do with anything? "White" americans. Aren't we all Americans? You know not all brown people are Mexicans. The space is used right? Isn't that the point? God..closet racists.. while your at it, make sure to keep your hood in the drawer...

You're hilarious.

Clearly you know nothing about Fresno or me.

Fun fact: I was born in Mexico City. My parents are mexican. I am blond. I enjoy racism when I visit mexico (pinche gringo) and in the US (why is the white boy speaking spanish)



Why is what I wrote relevant:

"Can anyone in California think of a good/successful example where a small- to medium- town closed a secondary street adjacent to a main downtown street to develop a public plaza."

Success depends on who you ask. Because the street is frequented mostly by mexicans, they will tell you it is successful. Ask a white american that lives in the northwest but commutes downtown, and theyll tell you it is a failed project thats dangerous after 5pm and should be reopened to cars to revitalize it. It is an argument that plays out every year in the Fresno Bee opinion columns. Of course, those who subscribe to the bee are afluent, considerably whiter americans.

And theyre mexican, not americans. Those that patronize the streets are mostly seasonal workers, not mexican-americans.

Race is a relevant issue when discussing Fresno. 95% of the murders, for example, come from the Bulldogs (2nd or 3rd generation mexican americans mostly) and the "Asian Boys" gangs (go ahead and guess what their members consist of)

[JNA]

On the ASLA website there is this article: San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks Program Expands
http://dirt.asla.org/2010/04/08/san-...-plan-expands/