Honorable Mayor Ohtaki and Council Members:The City is to be commended for the many things they have done in the past to maintain
and improve the Downtown Area; yet, so much more remains. To help make the downtown area vibrant again, resulting in increased
business and loyalty from consumers, you might consider some additional repairs and maintenance, such as the following:In talking
with merchants, property owners, customers and former customers, what I hear is
1) Filthy street furniture
2) Graffiti is too slowly removed
3) Newspaper racks unsightly
4) Flies near restaurants on the sidewalk entrances
5) Old kiosks, some in disrepair
6) Lack of parking
7) Over aggressive parking enforcement
8) A huge inappropriate sign at the Gateway to the downtown area on Menlo Avenue that says STOP, DO NOT PARK......etc. - not a
very inviting sign
9) Applewood Pizza's awning looks like it is falling down.
10) Guild Theatre frontage paint is peeling - it looks awful
11) Trash cans are not emptied often enough; metal containers are often left open
12) Trafflic light on Oak Grove Ave. and El Camino Real has a missing hood - with Caltrans slow to repair
13) Vacant stores windows facing the street could be made more attractive.
14) A website could be developed primarily for the benefit of the downtown stores
15) A Facebook page could be developed primarily for the benefit of the downtown stores
16) The only dirt vacant lot downtown could be used for more than dirt (located behind the Refuge Restaurant)
17) Condition of the asphalt downtown is embarrassing- and a growing liability for the city.
18) The meters in lot 1 and 5 should be extended to all parking lots, so folks have the option of additional time.
19) The map on the parking plazas located on lot 5 should be duplicated and placed on all lots
20) Some signage is confusing or missing. For instance, at the end of Oak Grove Ave., at University Drive, a sign says No left
turn, then includes a bright yellow arrow showing both directions.
21) Clock tower at the train station - clock ok now, but previously it was not working
22) Ugly, empty car lots. Public art could have gone here, or extra parking, etc.
23) Little public art anywhere (the new utility box at Fremont Park is nice).
24) Should encourage a Suggestion Boxfor merchants to easily make suggestions
25) $50,000 for Christmas tree lighting is a poor use of that amount of money. Too costly where the benefit is not worth the cost.
26) Could you explore the benefits of a Business Improvement District (BID) similar to what is in downtown Palo Alto; there are 11
of them in San Francisco, etc.27) The Office of Economic Development could do more; many merchants are not familiar with them.
28) There used to be a quarterly report prepared by the Economic Development - but despite additional staffing, this service ended
long ago. Their website is outdated.
29) Trees downtown need trimming. There are some weeds in the landscape area.30) Fremont Park used to have rusty light posts -
thank you for painting them.
31) An electronic "auto reply" is needed for communications to the city, such as CCIN, Staff and others. Being ignored is
unacceptable and insulting.
32) Some streets on Menlo Avenue need a sign that says "through traffic does not stop", as they are otherwise dangerous and scary.
33) Trash cans, recycle cans, etc. are dirty. How often are they wiped down, even polished?
34) Tops of newspaper racks are dirty. How often are they wiped?
35) Some towns have hanging plants on their light poles (for example, Victoria Station near Starbucks on El Camino Real) have
them. It's a nice touch. Los Altos does it downtown too.
36) Parking plazas in some locations are too, too narrow, such as Lot 3. Who ever dreamed up this scheme? One large pickup truck,
RV, etc. blocks the path.Items # 37 - 100 could easily be developed, upon request. Attention to details would make a big
difference. What Los Altos has done downtown might also serve as an example., along with Downtown Mountain View, Downtown Redwood
City, Downtown San Carlos, Downtown Burlingame, etc. Some items can be done with little cost while others may take further
planning and budgeting. Thank you for considering the merits of this email.
