A Pedestrian Path to Surf City’s Future

For years, city leaders have fretted over what to do with the two-lane avenue that runs through the heart of old-town Huntington Beach.

Surfers pad down the street clutching their boards. Locals and business types hang out at the sidewalk cafes. Customers drift in and out of shops. But for all its funky charm, Main Street -- which offers a majestic view of the city pier and the Pacific -- always seems to have lacked something.

So, once again, town leaders are considering converting the street into a pedestrian-only promenade.

The City Council, which discussed the issue in 2001 and 2004, voted unanimously last week to create a committee to look into closing several blocks of Main Street near Pacific Coast Highway to traffic.

The street cuts through an area that has undergone tremendous change. Luxury hotels have sprung up nearby. Old beach cottages have been turned into pricey homes. But Main Street remains a throwback, with its surfboard shops and sidewalk diners.

Mayor Dave Sullivan, a council member for 12 years, said he had been pushing the idea of closing several blocks of Main Street since the mid-’90s. Residents regularly voice their support for turning at least a portion of the street into a walkway free of traffic, he said.

“The public is driving this,” said Councilwoman Debbie Cook. “They keep hammering us about it, about not wanting to inhale fumes while they eat, about wanting someplace to walk.”

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

Ron McLin, manager of the Longboard Restaurant and Pub, said most customers at his popular Main Street bistro asked to sit along the sidewalk, so they could take in the street scene.

“They like watching the cars. They like the hustle-bustle,” he said. “They want to be where the action is.”

The city is proceeding cautiously.

The newly formed committee will examine issues such as safety, economic impact and parking, said Nova Punongbayan, city economic development specialist. It will also study whether closing the street could increase the area’s homeless population. The goal is to complete the study by Labor Day, when the city could experiment with temporary closures.

In May, council members met with Santa Monica officials, who gave them a workshop and tour of their own promenade on Third Street. The city is not looking to duplicate Third Street, Punongbayan said, but does want to learn what makes the Santa Monica mall successful.

McLin, who is also vice president of the Downtown Huntington Beach Business Assn., says he has an idea of what might help pump up Main Street.

Strolling down the proposed promenade, he points to stains on the road and dirty gutters, broken trashcans covered with graffiti and stickers, empty news racks he thinks should be bolted to the ground, and dead flowers overrunning dirty flowerpots.

“They want to do a promenade? The city can’t maintain what it already has,” he said.

McLin said downtown merchants feared that blocking off cars would deplete the street’s energy and affect business.

The closure would eliminate as many as 57 metered parking spaces, another point of contention for many Main Street business owners. Two major development projects, the Strand and Pacific City, have already taken nearly 200 spaces, McLin said. “Why don’t we wait until that’s done?” he said.

Sullivan laughed.

“Wait?” he said. “They’ve been saying wait for 10 years. I’m sure they’d be happy to wait until 2070. It’s time to deal with this issue. The public wants it closed.”