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State of Downtown – A Resident’s Perspective: Great Potential, With the Right Choices

Michael Kuker.

Three years ago this month, I moved to a mixed-use building in the heart of Downtown Redding, and I can still honestly say there’s nowhere else in Shasta County I’d rather live.

Today, there’s even more happening downtown than the previous two years: More people walking around, more businesses, and work on the long-awaited K2 project to demolish the Dickers’ building and replace it with a four-story mixed-use building set back in the original footprint of the block begins soon.

And yet, today, I find myself less optimistic about Downtown Redding’s future than I have been in some time. Yes, some of my complaints from previous years are being addressed: There are three new mixed-use buildings being planned on under-utilized lots, street lighting has improved, and there will soon be a protected bike lane going into place on California Street that will eventually be part of a terrific connection to the Diestlehorst Bridge trailhead (unless those designs are compromised at the last minute).

Other complaints remain: proven simple and inexpensive steps to make downtown a better place to walk and bike (like shorter traffic cycles, lower speed limits, and automatic pedestrian signals) remain unimplemented. Unique buildings continue to vanish beneath generic stucco. Cars barrel down the wide lanes of one-way streets at high speed and barely make the slightest pretense of stopping at red lights before turning right.

This year also the five-year anniversary of my efforts to help make Redding a more walkable and bikeable city. And as I look around, I can’t help but be disappointed at the results of my efforts.

When I went back to school to study public administration, we were admonished not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good in our work. That is certainly something I have struggled with on a personal level; the list of things I have procrastinated starting because of that very reason is lengthy. However, it is certainly not something that Redding struggles with. Instead, we often let the “good enough” be the enemy of the great.

The thing that has been weighing on me the most lately is Market Street’s proposed new design. Market Street has been Redding’s “Main Street” since the early 1900s. Blocked off in the early 1970s for an ill-advised pedestrian mall, it is finally being reopened—well, most of it.

A new design for Market Street is, de jure or de facto, a statement of Redding’s values. What does Redding value as a community? What do we aspire to? What’s more, the design is something we will have to live with for some time. It’s been almost 15 years since the roof first started to come off the Mall and nearly 50 since Market Street was closed.

When I look at the new design for Market Street, I see something that looks amazing for pedestrians (thanks to Alta Planning) and pretty good for cars. I honestly don’t see bicycles being considered at all. Yes, I know the speeds will be low on Market Street, but people on bikes will still be stuck sharing the lane with massive pick-up trucks and SUVs. People on bikes will still be dodging cars backing up out of diagonal spaces that maximize parking at the expense of proper bike lanes. As a confident rider, I’m personally fine with taking the lane; however, a lot of other people won’t be. I predict we will see people continuing to ride their bikes on the sidewalks and perhaps even some unfortunate crashes.

As I have said the past two years: Downtown Redding has tremendous potential. We could have an incredibly vital, strong downtown very easily if we just make the right choices. Plenty of other cities and towns have done it—it’s not luck and it’s not magic. The necessary steps are quite well documented. It’s not difficult, we need only find the will. Will we?

To be frank, I am beginning to doubt it. But I’d love to be proven wrong.

Michael Kuker grew up among the grey pines and manzanita west of Redding. As a student at California State University, Chico; he became fascinated by the similarities and differences between Redding and Chico, particularly those of the built environment. His need to understand the “how” and “why” led him to the study of public policy and urban planning. Today, he lives, works, plays, and volunteers in Downtown Redding at the intersection of urbanism, placemaking, and history.

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