How do we pump new life and energy into downtown Modesto? Here are some ideas
Some potential changes to downtown Modesto now being floated are eye-opening. They include:
- Moving the Modesto Nuts’ ballpark to a future stadium at the southeast corner of 10th and F streets, now home to a body shop, various industrial buildings and private parking
- Introducing parking meters
- Changing all four of downtown’s one-way streets — G, H, K and L — back to two-way streets, like they were many years ago
- Reducing lanes on some streets, making them better for walking and riding bicycles, while adding green strips and reconfiguring curbside parking
Venerable I Street, for example, could end up with only two lanes — one in each direction — instead of four. The extra space would allow green strips with trees. Removing parking on Ninth Street would provide wider sidewalks plus a new channel for bicycles and pedestrians separated from road traffic by a green strip.
Other decades-old improvement ideas remain on the wishlist, including mixed-use buildings with shops on the ground floor and apartments above. Creating a better path to the nearby Tuolumne River and its future waterfront attractions is still a priority, as is adding green-space parklets and plazas in strategic downtown spots.
These are not minor adjustments, people. Taken together, they could really boost the vibe of an up-and-coming downtown — the cultural and civic heartbeat of our city.
Last year, city leaders said they wanted a fresh new vision for downtown. It’s nearly in their hands, in the form of a draft downtown master plan created with public input by Berkeley-based Opticos Design for $210,000.
A conference room at City Hall was packed in December when Opticos updated the City Council on their progress. Council members seemed enthused as they imagined downtown — which has made leaps forward in the past couple of decades — pulsing with even more around-the-clock energy.
They were right to bring things to this point, and they must keep the ball rolling. That will happen as people offer feedback in upcoming hearings when the draft is unveiled, in a few weeks.
You can get a good idea what’s in the plan by viewing a slideshow presented at the Dec. 17 workshop. Find it at modestogov.com/2404/Downtown-Master-Plan.
Not everything being pitched will come to pass. For example, it’s not a given that the Nuts would abandon John Thurman Field, a memory-steeped minor league baseball icon since 1955 beloved by much of Modesto.
The Bee Editorial Board will weigh in on elements as changes are brought forward, particularly those regarding the ballpark and traffic flow.
Parking meters are an excellent idea, and long overdue, because they would help reverse the city’s nonsensical policies enabling workers, who should be using parking garages, to instead monopolize precious curb space.
Opticos shared what happened when Ventura’s leaders swallowed hard and finally put some meters in that city. They converted only 318 curb spaces to meters, from a potential of 2,500, and began charging 50 cents to $1 per hour. Immediately, they saw more spaces open on curbs and fewer vacancies in their garages. And the change brings Ventura an extra $530,000 a year, which leaders use for a new police officer, nine police cadets, better lighting and free public Wifi throughout its downtown.
As much as we love downtown Modesto, it can — and will — be better. Let’s all help make it happen.
