Santa Monica Plans to Step Up Curb Appeal

Santa Monica wants to inject some of the atmosphere of its nationally known Third Street Promenade pedestrian mall--including outdoor cafes and outdoor performers--into the rest of its ailing downtown.

Under an ambitious plan that includes a $5-million transitway, city officials hope to encourage more visitors to leave their cars at home, take buses downtown and stroll from place to place.

At the core of the plan is the state-funded transitway, which would replace some car traffic along Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway between Ocean Boulevard and 5th Street.

Slated to be working by the end of 1998, the transitway will narrow both Broadway and Santa Monica Boulevard to four lanes, flanked by widened sidewalks for expanded cafes, information kiosks, bus shelters and Promenade-like amenities.

The City Council is scheduled tonight to award the first contracts in the $18.7-million plan. The work is expected to be done over the next half-dozen years; so far, only the transitway has been funded.

Pledges Mayor Pam O’Connor: “Once you park downtown, you’ll want to leave your car and walk. You won’t have to; you’ll want to.” The goal, she said, is to extend the flavor of the three-block-long Third Street Promenade to the entire 32-block downtown area. On the Promenade, people come “not just to buy something but to read a book, meet their neighbors, watch the performers. It’s the street as outdoor theater, and it’s interesting.”

The challenge is to transform Santa Monica’s downtown from a commercial hub whose eastern half virtually dies after business hours to a denser, more cohesive, 24-hour-a-day area. To help achieve that goal, the City Council last year passed regulations allowing commercial developers who add apartments over retail stores a 50% height bonus.

To attract outsiders, the city plans a transitway consisting of an exclusive bus lane on Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway, and is preparing for a 30% increase in bus service over the next three years. City transportation director John Catoe suggests that this would translate to 50% more riders.

Paul Ong, chairman of UCLA’s urban planning department, is impressed by the scope of the plan but cautious about its chances. For it to work, not only must mass transit draw more visitors to an expanded downtown, he said, but they must be a “more rounded” population than the people who traditionally take the bus. Gridlock or no, he insists, it’s hard to get Southern Californians out of their cars.

Ong said a successful downtown not only has safer streets; it also “creates a sense of safety,” emphasizing activities that are out in the open, rather than behind closed doors or in back alleys. Downtowns, he says, need more, not less, public space.

City officials say some commercial developers have already started building apartments downtown, most notably at the corner of Broadway and 3rd Street, with more to come.

Such downtown apartments appeal largely to singles and to the elderly, many of whom would gladly trade their backyards--and the isolation of suburbia--for the ability to walk half a block to the drugstore or cafe, O’Connor said.

To “soften” downtown’s new look, the plan also calls for more trees and shrubs, transforming the streets into “greenways”--to which would be added street art. Thus, tentative plans call for illuminating the public library with lights placed behind swaying leaves, making the walls seem to come alive--as well as encouraging the addition of vendors like the one selling hot dogs near the post office. While some cities have cracked down on street vendors, O’Connor maintains that they humanize often anonymous streets, promoting “spontaneous encounters” that are the essence of city living.

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Seeking Sidewalk Traffic in Santa Monica

To encourage more pedestrians in its downtown area, Santa Monica officials propose taking out two car lanes on Santa Monica Boulevard and widening sidewalks. This will be achieved by narrowing the roadway and changing space allocations for traffic and parking.