Some 3 million people visit Santa Cruz every year, and the first thing they see is Ocean Street. When City Council meets Tuesday at 7pm, they’ll discuss plans to make that first encounter as memorable as possible—and in a good way.
Some 3 million people visit Santa Cruz every year, and the first thing they see is Ocean Street. When City Council meets Tuesday at 7pm, they’ll discuss plans to make that first encounter as memorable as possible—and in a good way.
They will be talking about a 20-year plan that will expand public space, relieve traffic congestion and reduce crime. The plan calls for new building development, but it also calls for standards so that the buildings “reflect a high caliber of architectural design.” The want to find ways to link the street with the San Lorenzo River and make it more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists by incorporating new bike paths, benches and trees where people can find relief from the summer heat.
The plan should win the support of grassroots Take Back Santa Cruz, which refers to Upper Ocean Street as the “asshole of Santa Cruz.” They complain that the street is full of drug peddlers and petty criminals, with one member describing how she saw someone “defecating on the street.”
“It’s kind of horrible to think that that’s the introduction to Santa Cruz,” says one local activist. He should be reassured by SCPD spokesman Zach Friend’s assertion that similar plans have been successful elsewhere. “They’ve been able to remove certain landscaping that create an environment where people can commit crimes. If they do that on Ocean Street, we would expect to see a reduction in crimes.”
The new plan could boost business too. It calls for the creation of a convention center to attract people for events and conferences and space for new businesses, both locally owned and franchises.
Should the City Council agree to the program, it will allot $6,300 for an environmental impact review. Read more at KION.
