Modesto looking, sounding better; but we still don’t have a plan

It’s not often I agree with The Bee Editorial Board. In this I case I do.

I am all for improving downtown Modesto. Exciting to see the positive changes that have been done. Good to see the effects DoMo has had on downtown. Cleaner streets and helping people to move along are good steps; having more restaurants and music is a huge plus.

The purposed changes to J Street are a challenge at this point in time. With the new courthouse forthcoming, traffic routes are critical. Master planning for downtown is imperative. Downtown wants to be our cultural center, central business district with hundreds of jobs, a high-rise residential area and transportation center for Stanislaus County.

Oh? What of the hundreds of trucks that daily come through downtown to get to the Beard Industrial District? Only looking at one piece of the puzzle without an overall master plan will be disastrous! Places like Livermore use downtown to fulfill one need. We have many needs for our downtown. Long-term planning is what is missing.

We cannot afford to blow the few opportunities we have to plan for a successful downtown. Don’t be shortsighted again!