Councilmember Contreras requested the City Manager place a discussion item on an upcoming agenda to discuss temporary and permanent street closure(s) in Downtown Vista. The Central Vista Business Improvement District (CVBID) held its regular meeting on March 4, 2024 and discussed street closures in the historic downtown area as a general topic.
The CVBID held their regular meeting on Monday March 4, 2024 and invited business owners in the BID to discuss the concept of closing downtown streets to create pedestrian friendly areas. In addition to four CVBID Board Members, there were three business owners present. The following is a summary of the discussion.
Some of the positive effects of street closures mentioned during the discussion include the provision of additional space for people to walk and bike, the creation of additional outdoor seating and dining areas, and creating a family-friendly environment to draw additional foot traffic to the downtown. The main concerns voiced during the discussion related to a decrease in the number of parking spaces and increased traffic congestion. While the Citrus St. public parking lot is only full during peak times, customers coming to downtown prefer parking closer to their destination. The elimination of on-street parking spaces may upset customers who are coming to the downtown area for a specific business destination if parking is not available close by. Parking in the Citrus Avenue lot is problematic for people who cannot walk far distances and during rainy weather conditions. The City could study the feasibility of making the downtown streets one-way and provide additional parking spaces by designing them to be diagonal pull-in spaces on both sides of the street. Finally, it was noted that closing streets in the downtown would force additional traffic onto the already congested E. Vista Way.
Dave Lowen, owner of the former First National Bank building, provided a brief history of the proposal to consider downtown street closures and expressed his hope for a partnership with the City to create an outcome that will work for everyone. He also shared his opinion that the street closures would help increase foot traffic to the downtown thereby benefitting the local businesses. Omar Gonzalez, owner of The
Modern Churro Café and Omar’s Exotic Birds, suggested the option of implementing one-way streets in downtown, similar to what has been implemented in other cities.
He mentioned the benefit of increased parking spaces at a minimal cost, instead of the high cost of constructing a parking structure at a cost of $53,000 per spot.
March 26, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.
City Council Chambers
Vista Civic Center
200 Civic Center Drive
