What will become of Modesto's J Street? City Council needs longer to decide

Modesto is not yet ready to make a decision on whether to remake J Street — a major downtown thoroughfare — into what supporters call a destination street that will slow and reduce traffic while drawing in people to walk and shop along the street.

The City Council was expected Tuesday to consider this, but interim City Manager Joe Lopez said the proposal was pulled from the meeting agenda because several council members needed more information before they can make a decision.

We "probably were not ready to bring it forward" to the council, said Lopez, who declined to say who those council members are. He said he expects the proposal to come back to the council in August.

Modesto has reduced the J Street proposal since its last public discussion in May. The proposal had encompassed J Street between Ninth and 16th streets. A city report now says the proposal is from Ninth to 14th streets over concerns that 14th Street is a truck route.

Modesto received a roughly $1.5 million federal grant about a couple of years ago to repave J Street. But the city needs to make a decision soon or risk losing the grant.

"The grant funding for the design phase expires in June of 2019 which means that the award (of) a construction contract is due by June of 2019," according to a city report. "Staff needs to begin the design as soon as possible; otherwise, the grant deadline will not be met and there will be a loss of the grant funding."

The city has been considering repaving J Street and reducing it to two lanes. (The street now is two or four lanes and includes a center turn lane.) The city also would replace the parallel parking along the street with diagonal parking and add curb extensions at the intersections.

The city would need to find the money to complete the street's transformation with trees and other landscaping and amenities. The city report states Modesto has applied for a $2.4 million state grant and should know by November whether it will be awarded a grant.

The Downtown Modesto Partnership has been a strong advocate for the project. Supporters have pointed to Livermore, Turlock and Lodi as examples of how this kind of effort can transform a downtown.

But opponents say Modesto's downtown is not the same. They say it's a government center dominated by offices. And some J Street businesses worry about how their bottom lines would be harmed by the construction.

Another detail has emerged that could cause concern. The city would replace the water main under J Street from Ninth to 13th streets if the council decides to repave the street, according to Utilities Department Director Will Wong.

The council has two other options. It could repave J Street and keep the street in its same configuration, with parallel parking and the same number of traffic lanes. Or it could use the federal grant to repave Burney Street or La Loma Avenue.

While the council won't make a decision on J Street, it is expected to appoint Lopez as Modesto's permanent city manager.

Lopez, 42, has served first as acting and then interim city manager since April 2017. He has been with Modesto since January 2012, starting as human resources director and eventually becoming a deputy city manager. His contract calls for him to be paid $214,376 annually.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.

This story was originally published July 9, 2018 at 5:13 PM.