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March 24, 2007
It's not a Bunch of Bunk when property owners make improvement to improve the attractiveness of their property.
The Brusies (owner of the Chico Cemetery) should be complemented for their effort to improve the frontage of Mangrove Avenue.
Lately, if you have driven along Mangrove Avenue ( between East First Avenue and Vallombrosa Avenue) you’ll notice that there has been a number of improvements to the historic Chico Cemetery, including the lowering of the evergreen hedge and the installation of an attractive chain link metal fence. The removal of the old dilapidated wire fence and the mancuring to the sidewalk area, is an outstanding improvement for the attractiveness of the area.
I hope that other property owners will follow their example. Thanks Brusies.
Posted by at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 18, 2007
CHICO CITY COUNCIL WANTS A DOWNTOWN LONG-TERM VISION PLAN (Big Chico Creek to Little Chico Creek and the residential areas on each side of Downtown)
After many meetings, public hearings and substantial expenditures for a Downtown Charrette, the Council now wants to develop a DOWNTOWN VISION PLAN (also known as a LONG-TERM PLAN).
Hopefully the DOWNTOWN CHICO BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (DCBA) will be asked by the City Council to take the lead responsibility for the development of the PLAN along with other interested parties (now referred to as Stakeholders).
I have several suggestions for policies that I believe should be considered for inclusion in the DOWNTOWN LONG-TERM PLAN.
1. Develop, improve and add, where feasible, additional on-street parking facilities.
2. Develop a long-term parking plan to accommodate the construction of retail and residential buildings on vacant properties, as well as similar improvements on existing properties.
3. Purchase the Senator Theater for a Performing Arts Center to serve the Chico community.
4. Relocate the Transit Center, now located on 2nd St., which currently eliminates about 20 or more prime parking spaces and is incompatible due to noise, emissions and congestion.
5. Assist the Farmers Market to relocate to a much improve location; either at the Municipal Building parking lot or the new Downtown Plaza.
6. Use Redevelopment Funds to assist property owners to improve their retail buildings and to redevelop upper floors for office or residential units. Assist property owners, with vacant land, to develop new retail space, condos or apartments.
7. Work with the County, and the Chico Unified School District to build their much needed administrative facilities adjacent to the Municipal Building. This will require a multi-story parking facility to accommodate the 3 administrative buildings.
8. Assist the residential neighborhoods on each side of Downtown Chico where homes need rehabilitation and improvements to the infrastructure in these areas, where required.
9. Improve the Downtown lighting.
10. Assist the DCBA by establishing a Business Improvement District (BID) to help the City provide a clean, inviting and "walkable" Downtown environment.
11. Support the rehabilitation of the Old Municipal Building, including the location of a Police Substation in that building (this project may be completed before the adoption of a LONG-TERM DOWNTOWN PLAN).
If there is any hope of a Downtown "walkable", friendly “mixed use” core, the City must provide the vision and leadership necessary to encourage private sector investment.
Posted by Fred at 12:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 12, 2007
A SINGLE NAME FOR A CONTINUOUS NUMBER OF STREETS
A SINGLE NAME FOR A CONTINUOUS NUMBER OF STREETS
Recently there has been a great deal of discussion (and an ultimate decision) in renaming Whitman Avenue to Martin Luther King Parkway? This inspired my thinking about another street renaming project which will take a llittle longer to accomplish.
Chico has a number of streets that are connected in a northerly and southerly direction, but have different names; extremely confusing to visitors and newcomers.
Fair Avenue, Mulberry Street, Pine Street, Cypress Street, Woodland Avenue, Mangrove Avenue and Cohasset Road should be considered for renaming; to a single name.
Some suggestions: United Boulevard; United States Boulevard; Great American Boulevard; American Way or perhaps Estados Unidos Boulevard.
What are your thoughts?
Posted by Fred at 08:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 08, 2007
SOME MINOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE RECONSTRUCTED RINGEL PARK WOULD ASSIST IN IDENTIFING THE NORTHERLY APPROACH TO CHICO'S DOWNTOWN
The City should be complemented for the recent improvements to RINGEL PARK.
I assume the purpose of the attractive embossed sign “WELCOME TO DOWNTOWN CHICO" was incorporated in the design to notify people in automobiles, entering Shasta Way from the Esplanade, that they were approaching Chico’s DOWNTOWN.
Unfortunately, the embossed sign is misaligned and is not easily read. I don’t know if this can be corrected without substantial cost. If it can, it should be undertaken as soon as possible.
One other correction should be to provide a contrasting background to the City Seal so that it can be recognized by those entering the DOWNTOWN. I believe this can be accomplished with little cost, if any.
Perhaps each of these suggestions will be paid for by the architects, voluntarily, that were paid to design the reconstructed RINGEL PARK.
Posted by Fred at 08:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack