An Illuminating Move

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

May 4 -- Downtown merchants hope better lighting may be the key to getting shoppers in the mood to cozy up to businesses just off the Third Street Promenade.

That was the priority at the April 28 Bayside Board meeting, where urban designers and Downtown officials grappled with how best to spend $2.3 million carved out for improvements on Second and Fourth streets.

"I think lighting right now is the priority," said Bayside Board Chair Bill Tucker, who owns property on the Promenade. "We want to make it a friendlier environment for pedestrians on those surrounding streets."

The lighting will help shoppers feel safer at night and send a signal to those who stroll off the Promenade that they are still in a central shopping district, Bayside officials said.

The funds will also be used to replace the trees, said Tucker, adding that the landscaping was not as high a priority as the lighting.

"There was less consensus on the trees, but my own take on it is I would like to see some of the (ficus) trees removed, or at least thinned out," Tucker said.

Removing at least some of the area's ficus -- which require intensive pruning and lift up the sidewalks, raising maintenance and liability issues -- has been a topic of discussion at previous meetings.

In addition to improved lighting and trees, the board also is considering improvements to mid-block crosswalks, Tucker said.

Artist Cliff Garten -- a member of the design team who was responsible for light sculptors along a three-block stretch of Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach -- suggested using an artistic approach to lure pedestrians from the bustling commercial strip.

But Bayside officials opted for a more conservative look that stressed the lighting, not the art, and kept the area uniform.

Bayside officials said they are still in talks with the urban designers, who are working on the streetscape changes, but note that a date to begin construction has not yet been set.

The improvements will have to be carefully coordinated with other proposed projects, especially the planned demolition of three public parking structures in the area, board members have said.

The improvements are expected to give a boost to businesses on the 2nd and 4th streets that have struggled, even after foot traffic and sales revenues took off for Promenade stores in the 1990s.