Editor,
Before the Forest Avenue Closure stirs more panic from motorists, merchants and the petition police, here are execution steps to ensure the event will give us meaningful results. A positive community experience and business receipts will ensure a successful event.
Change The Name: The Forest Closure brings panic to the uninitiated motorist. In a town famous for renaming initiatives to change public perception, try The Forest Ped-Zone or Car-Free Forest or Forest Ped-La-Via or Forest Cheese Cake.
Temporary Parking: Provide temporary replacement parking for 56 Forest Avenue parking spaces. Use employee parking near city hall, the Lumber Yard parking lot, the Wells Fargo Parking Lot; use signage to direct motorists there.
Transit Service: Continue regular municipal bus service at Beach and Glenneyre, re-route the northbound Forest Avenue route to Mermaid.
Trolley Route: Schedule and re-route the Laguna Beach trolley for service to downtown with a stop at East Forest.
Public Notice: Visitors consider alternative transportation within Laguna. Residents participate in the experiment: leave the car at home.
Active Transportation: Make it a car-free day, use your feet, skateboard or ride a bike on the new alternative bike-route through Laguna.
Bike Racks: Locate visible bike racks at Post Office, Scandia Bakery, Lumberyard
Food: Serve food and beverages, hotdogs, pretzels, ice cream, soda and, yes, beer.
Commerce: Use signs to draw street traffic; that’s where the people are. Kiosks, A-frame pavement signs, sign mannequins. Autos don’t carry wallets; people do.
Seating: Don’t spare the shaded tables chairs and especially lawn chairs, put them in the street. Use pedestal tables in public meeting areas.
Footwear: Wear walking shoes, sunscreen and bring a mug. Plan to join the walk-in experience on Forest Avenue.
Les Miklosy, Laguna Beach
Thanks for the letter Les. We need more thoughtful and fresh ideas to problem-solve the tough issues we face. We are in desperate need of a paradigm shift and that means we need to break from the “motor vehicle 1st” mentality that dominates much of the thinking in our culture.
Laguna Beach and its downtown merchants will thrive if Forest Avenue becomes a pedestrian sanctuary. Businesses will prosper when customers can relax and enjoy the experience – and not have to worry about feeding the meters for their car. Residents will adjust and the “village” we so eagerly tout will feel more like the village we we claim it to be.
Les, I am “sure” you have run your ideas past the City Transportation and Circulation committee, the LBPD and the traffic planners and they have all agreed your recommendation are viable and won’t effect congerstion in Laguna correct? Yeah, I thought so.
To provide residents and visitors the value added proposition of a pedestrian friendly downtown open space area will serve to demonstrate our City has finally delivered a fresh progressive initiative to the community..
Our small city will reap many positive benefits derived by creating a dynamic socially interactive pedestrian friendly downtown open space area, free from motor vehicle congestion and traffic,
Removing the visual blight of parked vehicles that obstruct storefront views of patrons & customers will encourage more foot traffic.
I will be more inclined to ride the trolley and to spend time and money downtown if we as a community welcome and embrace this pedestrian friendly downtown open space area which will best serve the peaceful enjoyment of the downtown experience.
A new view corridor down Forest Ave will have a beautiful vista opening gala directly to the ocean!