Modesto to narrow downtown’s J Street so restaurants can offer outdoor dining
Modesto will reduce traffic to two lanes and put in angled parking to create space for restaurants and stores to expand into part of the road along several blocks of J Street, a major downtown thoroughfare.
The City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday to modify the street to help business during the new coronavirus pandemic. Stanislaus County restaurants can only offer takeout and outdoor dining under the state’s current public health restrictions.
Restaurants throughout the city have expanded outdoors by offering dining in their patios, under canopies set up in parking lots and in other outdoor venues. But those options have been difficult for J Street restaurants to use in part because of narrow sidewalks, a lack of parking lots and the street’s high volume of traffic.
J Street runs from Ninth to 17th streets. The city will restripe J Street to two lanes (it has as many as four lanes in some spots), put in angled parking, signage and other work from Ninth up to 14th streets. The traffic signals at intersections will be set to flashing red except at Ninth and 14th streets, where they will continue to work as they do now.
All of J Street’s 15 restaurants are within the project’s boundaries.
The work is expected to start Thursday and take four to eight business days at an estimated cost of as much as $16,000. Community and Economic Development Director Jaylen French said there will be some brief inconveniences to businesses during the restriping work.
Downtown groups implore Modesto
The project will create spaces along the street for restaurants and stores to serve customers. Businesses that want to do that will need approval through Modesto’s open air initiative. French said in an interview that the city can approve an application in a day or two provided it receives all of the required information.
The City Council’s decision comes after the Chamber of Commerce, the Modesto Downtown Partnership, Downtown Improvement District and several other community groups implored Modesto in a Sept. 3 letter to close or narrow J Street to help restaurants and stores survive during the pandemic.
Downtown Partnership President-CEO Josh Bridegroom thanked the City Council and city officials at Tuesday’s meeting for taking this step. French said Modesto worked with the partnership in creating this plan.
French said Modesto’s fire engines will use other major downtown streets, instead of J Street, to get to McHenry Avenue when responding to calls. He said work along J Street is a temporary fix, and Modesto will re-evaluate it in spring 2021.
French also told council members the city surveyed J Street businesses over several days. He said the city talked with 24 businesses and 20 supported narrowing the street, two were mostly in favor and two opposed it. The city could not reach the owners or managers of about 20 other businesses.
Councilman Mani Grewal did not vote on this proposal because he has a conflict of interest.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
