Public CommentFrom:Greg van den Dries
To:PublicComment
Subject:Proposed N. Santa Cruz Utilization
Date:Monday, June 8, 2020 2:49:05 PM
Good evening!
I started a thread on Next Door about closing North Santa Cruz which seems to
have gained some traction. The discussion can be found here.
https://nextdoor.com/post/150466326?init_source=copy_link_share
In essence, the proposal is a temporary solution designed to bring visitors to down town.
The proposal is below. There have been 10 signatures on the online petition over the last 4
days supporting the exploration and further discussion of this idea.
Proposal for reopening Downtown. Hello Neighbors! I know we're all concerned about keeping our shops and restaurants open during the SIP. The truth is that without customers, our merchants will struggle to stay in business. As we near Phase 3 of re-opening, I'd like to open a discussion on how we could re-open in a safe and viable manner that allows our restaurants and shops to regain their footing. No proposal is perfect and there are many issues in my proposal but i'd love to hear your thoughts. If enough of you view this as a viable proposal, i'll setup an online form that will allow you to register your interest ( https://form.jotform.com/201557272039151 ) so we can present to the town council for consideration, discussion and refinement. As you can see, I'm proposing we shut N. Santa Cruz to automobile traffic and allow our restaurants and shops to setup outdoor dining and shopping. This additional space will allow for social distancing and also present a "European" approach to our main shopping and dining area. While DoorDash and other delivery services have provided a way for many businesses to remain open, the sad reality is that without real customers dining, drinking and shopping, many of our businesses will close. To accommodate both, delivery services can approach using side streets, park and then walk to restaurants for pickup. This allows N. Santa Cruz to become a huge area for shopping and dining, similar to when we close it for Fiesta de Arts and other town events. This would be a temporary setup until the SIP is fully removed and Covid is no longer a concern. Let me know what you think!