Merchants envision fewer cars, more people

Have you been to old-town Pasadena ? Or Union Street in San Francisco? Or Truckee? The merchants there had a vision, a "lifestyle center" vision, says Stephen Glenn, vice president of commercial sales for The Killian Co.

Realtors in Reno.

The merchants along Reno's California Avenue have a vision, too, of what their street could look like.

What it looks like now is a fast, four-lane, cross-town commuter link with limited parking and scattered retail and dining businesses.

What it could look like, says Debbie Branby, owner of the Cheese Board and Wine Seller, is inviting.

She envisions pedestrians strolling the avenue, going from a visit to the Nevada Museum of Art to a browse through upscale retail shops to dining in one of several avenue restaurants.

People might even walk the mile circle from downtown Reno, along South Virginia, over California Avenue, down Arlington, and back along Liberty.

Balboa Island in Newport Beach has a similar district, says Branby."It's vibrant, with shops and pedestrians.

It's a neighborhood." The vision is also appealing, says Glenn, because it is infill development in the midst of growing concern about Reno's outward sprawl.

The California Avenue district, as outlined by the South Downtown Urban Design Plan, is bordered by Sierra Street,Marsh Avenue, Arlington Avenue, and Liberty Street.

The Reno Community Development Department includes it as a project that "can increase downtown Reno's competitive advantage for attracting businesses that benefit from mixeduse and pedestrian-oriented environments." That means that a California Avenue project is a development that can enhance the downtown tourist's experience, as well as increase business for its own merchants, says Glenn.

California Avenue merchants are in the preliminary stages of forming a merchants association to study costs, plans, and possibilities for the district.

The city planning department,meanwhile, is scheduling a meeting with interested parties on the avenue to discuss the California Avenue District Plan drawn up by the department in August and subsequent revisions to it.

The merchants most motivated to make a change on the avenue are the restaurant and retail owners - those whose livelihoods will be enhanced by increased foot traffic.And they are also the leaders in the quest, says Branby.

She concedes that getting everyone on board, from the avenue's attorneys, to insurance agents, to mortgage groups and others,may not be possible.

But the group is also inspired by the success of the Wells Avenue upgrades, she says.

She's had her Cheese Board on the avenue for almost 20 years, she adds, and has been thinking about avenue upgrades for many of those years.Now, she says,"I see this street as poised to do something." Because a special assessment district, possibly the most direct method of funding avenue upgrades, would require a 65 percent agreement from area property owners, the association will be studying the feasibility of acquiring grants and federal funding, says Branby.

As price tags for upgrades are considered $100,000 simply to reorganize for diagonal parking and a two-lane street along the avenue; $200,000 for a phase that includes new neighborhood signage, parking revisions, creating one-way streets on Flint and Hill, and a change from four lanes to two; another $100,000 to add widened sidewalks, landscaping, traffic calming, and a few other amenities - merchants are weighing where and how to spend their dollars.

The association group is getting started, too, by forming a special events committee for the district."All we have now is the Tour de Nez," says Branby.

Additional special events would increase visibility for the neighborhood, she says, as well as create teamwork amongst the merchants.

"I see the area as unconnected, independent businesses now," adds Glenn."The goal is to remove that isolation and make the area a cohesive whole."