I HOPE YOU HAVE A NICE LABOR DAY WEEKEND.

I will be taking a break for this long weekend. Along with visiting with family, I hope to finish this book, CITIES back from the edge by Brandes Gratz with Mintz. Although it's ten years old, it has great discussions about how to make/keep a downtown vital. See you Tuesday.

EXCUSE ME, MAY I BORROW A BIT OF YOUR SIDEWALK?

When restaurants have sidewalk seating it enlivens the whole street. We can see what it does for Grand. But when an evening gets busy, some restaurants find that there’s just not enough room outside. What if they could borrow from their neighbors? What if the sidewalk in front of the building next door—one that closes at 5—could become a temporary dining room? Bring out a few tables and chairs, add some umbrellas and voila, you have a dozen more seats easy. Come closing time everything gets folded up and put away, the sidewalk gets swept/washed, and everybody’s fine. Both O’Sullivans and Delight of France seem tight for space, so the former could use the space in front of the bank, the latter the jewelry store. Is this something that could be done informally between neighbors or would it have to involve the City? What are the liability issues? Can they be overcome? Is this an idea worth pursuing? It seems like a possible solution for now and would cost virtually nothing. See you tomorrow.

SO HAVE YOU SEEN THE GUNSLINGERS WHO ROLLED INTO TOWN?

Every morning, before I write my blog entry, I take a look at the local papers to see if something new is going on in Escondido. Maybe news on the hotel, a new event or something fun that supports the focus of We Love Escondido. I don't know about you, but I was extremely annoyed to see the Open Carry story in both the NC Times and Union Tribune. (Sorry in this case I will not provide links, if you want to see pictures of these numnutz you'll have to look for yourself.) Anyway, yesterday the Gang of Eight hung out at the Starbucks by the theater with holstered unloaded guns that they called the police to come and check. They plan to show up at Cruising Grand and the Farmers' Market and will call the police to check their weapons each time. Don't they realize they are wasting time and money the city can ill afford? Don't they care that they will frighten people who come to enjoy an event downtown? And how are we supposed to be sure one of them hasn't put a bullet back in their gun once it has been checked? I don't know if there is any way to control these idiots but I'm truly saddened that such a small group can cause problems for the rest of us. In addition, their fashion sense is abominable. If you're going to act like you're out in the Wild West, dress the part. There are wonderful tooled leather holsters that would look striking paired with some great cowboy boots, maybe even a pair of leather chaps. Because right now--with holsters that look amazingly cheap, utilitarian and nerdy--you just look silly. Peace and love. See you tomorrow. UPDATE: I suggested a Toy Gun Carry with pink guns. My husband has a better idea....squirt guns, empty of course. When they're loaded, you're not packing heat, you're packing cool.

I FORGOT TO SAY FARMER'S MARKET TODAY. TRY THE SAMBUSSAS.

They're crispy with wonderful fillings full of spice. We had the beef and lentil--I vote for the beef--and others were going for the spinach. It was near the corner of Grand and Juniper, right near the 7/11. Hummmmm.

ACROSS THE POND, EMPTY WINDOWS ARE FILLING WITH ART.

Two months ago I posted about the empty windows on Grand. Well, today I'm going to do it again spurred by the article in today's New York Times, POP! AN EMPTY SHOP FILLS WITH ART. Like everywhere else, London has empty storefronts. And now a few are being "loaned" to artists who create almost instant galleries. I'm sure the DBA and the City have considered this...what kind of response has their been? Have the major landlords on Grand simply said "NO" and that's it? Would someone be willing/able to tell me who owns these empty buildings....is it corporations, many individuals or just a few folks? On the other side, are there responsible art groups that would be willing and able to step forward and create functioning galleries? If you read this and fit into either side of the equation, feel free to get in touch. A little beauty, rather than blankness, would be a boost for Grand. See you tomorrow.

LET'S KEEP GRAND AVENUE OPEN.

Last week a friend of mine sent me a link to an article in the LA Times on the turning of Time Square into a pedestrian mall...did I think that would work for Grand? Well, as I mentioned on this blog, although it can be fun/necessary to close some streets for special events, I think the idea of doing it permanenetly needs to be tabled. If 5 years from now the sidewalks are so jammed every night that people can barely move--like Time Square--then it's something we could revisit. Here's what some people say on the subject.

Sam Staley is the director of urban and land use policy at Reason Foundation and the co-author of “Mobility First: A New Vision for Transportation in a Globally Competitive 21st Century.”

Only about 15 percent of the 200 pedestrian malls established by villages and cities across the nation have survived. Most of these malls failed because their designers didn’t understand the need for two fundamental elements: a large existing supply of pedestrians and a unique presence in the regional retail and urban landscape.

Steve Davies, is a senior vice president of the Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit design and planning group. He has worked on hundreds of street and public space improvement projects around the world

Pedestrian malls in the United States have a troubled history. When many cities installed them in the 1960’s and 1970’s, little thought was put into what would happen in the reclaimed space. Lacking a clear purpose, these malls were often devoid of public activity and became empty spaces, which, at their worst, were consumed by crime and loitering.

Far from helping retail districts, most of these pedestrian malls killed them. Vacancy rates soared, and any pedestrians using the malls found themselves walking among boarded up shops or former department stores that had been downgraded to thrift shops or other low-rent operations.

In this current economy, any change for the worse could put already teetering shops out of business. These experiences teach us two lessons. First, in most situations, automobiles drive retail. Pedestrian malls don’t create pedestrians; they only work on streets that are already dominated by pedestrian traffic.

This last posting is part of the commentson a discussion of turning part of Ann Arbor Michigan's downtown (it is a city of about 115,000) into a pedestrian mall. The site is www.arborupdate.com; this discussion can be found here. It was written by some named Marvin Face and I have edited it for posting here. You will see mentions of Main St and certain events. Imagine it's Grand and the events we have and you can see the parallels.

People unfamiliar with an area like to see their destination prior to parking. The parking doesn’t have to be nearby, but they want to survey the scene. If they can’t drive by then go park, the business is invisible. There is also a safety factor. With cars driving down the street in non-busy hours, there is less of a feeling of desertion. Once a place feels deserted, people feel uncomfortable walking and avoid the area. There is also the fact that people go to Main St. for the activity. Cars add to the activity on the street.. The last I will mention is that the space has to be programmed with events almost continually. When Main St is closed for events like the Taste of AA, or other events and the Mayor sees the jammed streets and all the activity I’m sure it is easy for him to think it should be like this all the time. But think of Main St on a typical weekend without a car show or octoberfest. Without the cars it’s a big expanse of asphalt. Interestingly, restaurant owners will tell you that when there is an event, their business goes down (They can’t wait for art fair to end every year).

Thanks for stopping by. See you tomorow.

ESCONDIDO: mid century charm

The first weekend my husband and I spent in Escondido we were impressed with Grand--it felt like So Cal in the 50s--and the City Hall/Center of the Arts. We thought the architecture was clean, the lattice work airy--and it seemed like a place that was cared for and about. What we saw was one of the reasons we chose to live here. Ten years later, I still think the mid century feel of the downtown is and can be a draw for visitors and could be the way we "brand" Escondido. I'm sure some of you are shaking your heads at the idea of branding, but can't we do better than what we have now? Did you know our slogan is Escondido City of Choice? What does that mean, really?

So I offer my idea---ESCONDIDO: mid century charm. This is obviously just the wisp of an idea, which will be greatly improved once it has a good typeface and nice color--hopefully something that is in sync with the aesthetics of the City Hall. My husband points out that the typeface there is a little more Art Deco that mid century, but I think we can work with it somehow since I don't think all that existing signage will be changed.

As a start on using this "charming" typeface, how about creating banners that let people know where museums and public galleries are. I knew my way to the parking lot of the CCA Museum, but once I passed the mural walls (see yesterday's post) I did not know where to go.Yes, there was a sign listing everything in fairly small type, but there was no indication of life ahead....no sound, no fountain, no banner, no nothing. It was a pair of barren concrete walkways and if I hadn't been sure the Museum was up ahead I might have turned around. How about beautfiully designed banners that say "ART" or "MUSEUM" or "CULTURE" hung on lampposts, above doorways, wherever we can put them? (I know there are some downtown already but they're generic rather than helpful.) And use the City Hall typeface. Maybe that could be a start on mid century charm. See you tomorrow.