C Street’s days as a “transit corridor” are numbered, as the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) proceeds with plans for fundamental and aesthetic changes to the notoriously confusing thoroughfare.
Contrasting with the street scene below, the second of four C Street Master Plan public workshops held on June 22 played out in an opulent ballroom at the Westgate Hotel, 1055 2nd Ave. Residents, property and business owners, and representatives from real estate and city agencies, attended the discussion, which focused on eliminating C Street’s pedestrian mall segments that interrupt through traffic from Second to Seventh avenues as well as the two directions of one way flow that meet head-on at 1st Avenue.
Representatives from CCDC and architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill presented images of a continuous drive lane “” either north or south of the trolley tracks “” as a solution to the street’s lack of parking, cohesion and economic viability.
Skidmore’s Ellen Lou said that the pedestrian mall model has largely failed by marginalizing property values and retail. She cited an Urban Land Institute study that showed the reintroduction of constant vehicle traffic to those same areas spurred development and economic growth.
Lou said the model only works in highly pedestrian and residential environments and that partially or completely reopening some of C Street’s transit lanes promises to bring business and commerce back.
Another fringe benefit of a drivelane is streetside parking, which is conspicuously absent from many of C Street’s blocks. Some residents and city employees noted that without parking, door-to-door services, such as UPS delivery, disappear.
Stewart Payne, executive director of downtown’s Property and Business Improvement District, pointed out the difficulty of power-washing sidewalks with nowhere to park. He added that despite the challenges, the city and downtown community are concerned with C Street’s appearance.
“There are people out there trying to keep all of that safe and clean,” Payne said.
Some residents attributed the street’s sad shape to transit and advocated realigning the trolley’s route to follow the train tracks.
“C Street’s decline began with the trolley,” said Ruben Andrews, co-owner of Graphic Solutions, an environmental graphic design firm. “I do believe that’s where the problem began, and everything is accommodating the transit.”
The fleeting idea did not seem to take root at the workshop, as transit has been given a big role in the future of the corridor.
The Metropolitan Transit System announced that future trolley cars to meet ADA standards will be up to 10 feet longer than current cars, allowing for more passengers during critical peak morning and afternoon hours. In response, Civic Square and North Central Square transit stations might be moved to more evenly spaced locations to accommodate the crowds.
Additionally, MTS hopes to incorporate Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes into C Street’s new configuration, though the integration is not dependent on the master plan. BRT is intended to attract new riders to downtown by offering fast, direct, convenient service while taking thousands of cars off the road.
Many residents stressed that the transportation, whatever shape or form, be compatible with pedestrian traffic.
Danielle Putnam of Walk San Diego offered the Gaslamp Quarter as a poor example of feet-friendly streets. Putnam suggested that the sidewalks be inviting, spacious and not limited by outdoor restaurant seating.
To the dismay of bicyclists, bike lanes were not included in the master plan’s preliminary drawings.
Although discussion of landscaping and decorative elements was not scheduled, some comments found their way into the recent meeting. On landscaping, one resident said that grass is hard to maintain in an urban environment, while another countered that birds and flowers make women feel safe and should be stressed.
Most of the forum, however, focused on functional and fundamental changes to the street, taking from suggestions offered up in April.
CCDC President Nancy Graham said C Street’s transformation from lifeless and dull to vibrant and lively is about “more than just making it pretty.” She advocated a holistic approach to the planning, which was echoed by District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer. He said traffic, landscaping, lighting and law enforcement will also play pivotal roles.
“It’s going to be a multi-faceted approach,” Faulconer said. “Simply changing the traffic lanes one direction will not accomplish the overall goal.”
Graham bumped C Street up in priority on the list of CCDC projects shortly after beginning her tenure as president last year and said she has high hopes that the changes will catalyze growth on the scale of Horton Plaza’s introduction to the Gaslamp.
“It’s so obvious when you go to C Street that it has these challenges, but it’s also so obvious that it has great opportunities,” she said. “It has the most significant potential to spur redevelopment downtown.”
The project boundary includes the 15 blocks between India Street and 11th Avenue and extends north and south to B Street and Broadway, respectively.
The next workshop in August will refine ideas on lighting, fixtures, furniture, paving and landscaping. Lou previewed a few photos of pavement with geometric designs and modern, transparent station shelters as well as public art possibilities for the corridor. She also referenced the sustainable aspects of the project, such as porous paving and the integration of solar energy.
A final meeting in December will finalize the project plans and implementation. Faulconer said he hopes to have a consensus and proposal by the end of the year.