LAKEPORT >> Although five people finally green-lighted it on Tuesday night, Phase II of the Downtown Improvement Project is a culmination of the many voices that have conceptualized — and criticized— it for more than six years.
“I say we honor the public input that so many people have given for so many years,” Lakeport City Councilmember Mireya Turner said, subsequently joining her fellow councilmembers in a unanimous decision to award a revised bid contract to Granite Construction for the three-block, $2.7 million overhaul.
“I personally think it’s time to move forward,” Councilmember Martin Scheel added.
Yet, in the last opportunity for public comment some of those that have been involved since the project’s inception wanted to delay it further, including Ron Campos, owner of Campos Casuals.
In a raised voice and conversational style akin to courtroom cross-examination, Campos mainly criticized the proposed widening of the sidewalk by 2.5 feet, claiming that it would further expose pedestrians to oncoming traffic as they get out of their cars.
To support his argument, he recalled an experience where he stood near a tar mark on the street in front of the store — allegedly the approximate location of new parking spaces. He said he was honked at because he was “in the way.”
“It’s going to open up directly into traffic,” he said. “I think that this whole thing needs to be put on hold until something is done in the safety of this community … It just doesn’t seem smart.”
As previously reported by the Record-Bee, the sidewalks were designed by the contracted engineers for greater width to improve pedestrian safety by slowing down traffic with a technique of visual narrowing. This analysis has been supported by recent research, according to The Project for Public Spaces, a non-profit group that has supported public works projects in every state.
Not only does the study suggest it slow down traffic, but it also makes it easier for walkers to cross the street because they have less of a street to cross. Furthermore, Scheel added that the larger sidewalks give businesses, especially restaurants, for storefront opportunities like outside dining and sales.
These points didn’t convince the clothier and he extended further criticism to Lakeport Police Department Chief Brad Rasumussen’s lack of input in the project by not attending recent public meetings. Additionally, the chief was pressed in a heated back-and-forth for not measuring the point where car doors open on the street.
“I’m not a traffic engineer,” Rasmussen said.
Finally, Campos was concerned about interruptions to business, which he said will affect his store’s inventory for two quarters.
“It’s going to be impactful,” he said. “How do I order my merchandise? How much impact can we take on?”
Others had additional concerns, including former Councilmember Suzanne Lyons, who had problems with the trees, which were cut from the contract due to a $3,100 per unit installation.
“When you have somebody who tells you that it costs $3,100 to provide a tree, I’d look seriously about the other things and what they’re going to cost,” she said.
The city has indicated that it will do the trees for a cheaper cost either in-house or with another contractor. However, Lyons wanted to know the source of that money. According to City Manager Margaret Silveira, the council can use one-time reserves to pay for them if the contingency funds for the project are exhausted.
For most of her critique, the exchange was calm. But when she continued Campos’s complaints about the sidewalk, voices were raised and elicited emotional responses from both sides.
“Are you proposing that we changing it at this point?” Mayor Marc Spillman asked.
Councilman Kenneth Parlet expressed the strongest response of the night.
“We’re trying to do this in a timely fashion, we’ve had all this public outreach trying to get everyone involved … and we’re trying to project together and we’re being treated like we are trying to destroy the economy of Lakeport. I just don’t get it,” he said. “We have to do something and I don’t want to have us wait any longer… we’ve had all the outreach that we can stand at this point and we need to move forward.”
