During the Wednesday evening brainstorm session at city hall, about 30-or-so community members and stakeholders chimed in with ideas on how the City of Woodland can help improve its downtown as a destination spot. But this was not the first time the city sponsored a community brainstorm. City planners also conducted a well-attended brainstorm session in preparation of the original 1993 Downtown Specific Plan. And in 2008 the Woodland Journal/Woodland Record folks distributed 500 surveys to downtown stakeholders and collected ideas for historic district. (Click here and here for more information.)
This 2012 idea-gathering was led by councilmen Sean Denny and Jim Hilliard who set the ground rules for the “jam” described by Denny as a process used by marketing agencies to conjure conceptual solutions without being bogged with details. Only positive ideas would make their list of possibilities. Negative comments, such as “we’ve already tried that it won’t work,” were not entertained.
Also off-the-table were ideas related to traffic and circulation… although later in the evening one participant was able to offer the idea that Main Street traffic needs to be slowed down. An example not given during the brainstorm is the bustling, historic downtown of Pacific Grove. Its main street has a speed limit of 15 mph, has diagonal parking and has stop signs instead of stop lights. Of course, Pacific Grove has the ocean going for it.
According to the councilmen, traffic and circulation will be addressed during the Downtown Specific Plan revisions, but the idea of putting a median with landscaping down Main Street also slipped in during the jam.
To get the ball of ideas rolling, Denny proposed that downtown Woodland could be the home of a London-style Ferris Wheel. That idea was parlayed into two Ferris Wheels serving as book ends for the historic downtown. It was meant as a humorous example of unbridled conceptualizing… however… by the end of the evening the concept of such a similar attraction was not too far-fetched.
The ideas quickly flowed as it was obvious participants came equipped with their own brainchild. Adorning Main Street with an arch, banners and better lighting (LED and neon) set the stage for ideas about festivals of various kinds, some already in existence (like the Tomato Festival). Some participants feel like downtown Woodland would benefit from expanding the Stroll Through History and the First Friday Art Walk, or creating a harvest festival, a music festival, a cruise/car show and a “seed-central” celebration in honor of all the seed companies in the area.
Others got into the nitty-gritty of infrastructure ideas, like improving Dead Cat and Dog Gone Alleys with pedestrian-friendly walkways and better lighting. Paul Ludovina, owner of Ludy’s Main Street BBQ and its “Outback” patio located on Dead Cat Alley, gave testimony that the alley sides of downtown buildings (the back doors) should be used as business assets. Planning commissioner Chris Holt praised property owners Tom and Meg Stallard for connecting Dog Gone Alley to Main Street with paseos corridors between their business spaces.
Generally, these concepts revealed that downtown improvements should grow northward (to include Dead Cat Alley) and southward (to include Dog Gone Alley). The brainstormers did not mention improvements above or below street level as in making better uses of basements, second and third floors or even roof tops. Brainstormers did mention that the Intermission Garden or Heritage Plaza both next to the Woodland Opera House would be a good places for a children’s play area.
Of course, any discussion about improving Main Street wouldn’t be complete without the notion of turning the benches around. The city has been ignoring that idea since they installed the sidewalk benches “backwards” to face the buildings.
Although there has been little evidence of it, the city has long-professed that one goal for the downtown is to make it “pedestrian-friendly.” The beauty of a brainstorm “jam” is that participants can reinforce an reoccurring idea… and even improve upon it… like making the downtown “bicycle-friendly.” Maria Contreras Tebbutt (Woodland Bike Campaign, Yolo Family Resource Center) explained both the economic and health benefits of making the downtown more like Winters… for example, installing back racks and designating a bike loop.
Other discussions focused on communication: 1) To get visitors to downtown Woodland, and 2) To help visitors find their way once they arrive. Ideas included I-5 billboards (old-fashioned and/or high-tech), better publicity, directional signs, informational kiosks, trolleys, partnerships with hotels and branding strategies. But who will be responsible for doing all this? In most cities, the chamber of commerce usually takes this on. But this is Woodland. Participants seemed open to the idea of the city hiring a downtown coordinator. The position could be funded by the increased sales tax generated. A coordinator could even be a liaison for developers and entrepreneurs who can streamline the city’s obfuscated permit process and arbitrary fee system. A coordinator can also manage an Art in Public Places program.
During the brainstorm session Dani Thomas, Executive Director of Yolo Arts, once again enlightened Woodlanders about the virtues of art installations and art shows. You see, in the summer of 2011 Thomas proposed an Art in Public Places (APP) pilot program for Woodland that fell on deaf ears (Woodland’s city council and redevelopment agency).
A decade ago (December, 2002) the Woodland Art Center also proposed an APP program. It was similar to the Yolo Arts proposal… and it, too, was ignored. A modified Art Center proposal was presented again in 2008, and again the council ignored it. The city council has been involved in discussions about art in public places since the late 1980s, but for some reason town leaders just cannot step into the 21st century.
It is such an irony, because some of the same council members have seemingly embraced the art and mission of the Art Center’s Dead Cat Alley Nine Lives Project. On November 27, 2007, the Woodland City Council approved the Dead Cat Alley Proclamation, the intent of which was to recognize the passage as a city asset and as a community point of interest. By approving it, council also recognized that there will be continuing public and private efforts to improve the alley and it should remain accessible as a continuous passage from Cleveland Street to Freeman Park, for future citizens, merchants, and tourists.
Nancy Edwards, owner of the Fat Cafe Cafe, mentioned to brainstormers that many of her customers ask about Gary Dinnen’s cat sculptures that hide in Dead Cat Alley. She suggested that tours and art installations in the alley be expanded. Ludovina concurred. His patio customers at 666 Dead Cat Alley often ask about the Devil Cat sculpture and his Dead Cat Alley Tee Shirts. Solano Magazine selected Dead Cat Alley as the Best of 2007 Public Art Installation for the region of Solano, Napa, Yolo and surrounding areas. Aside from Dinnen, artists who’ve contributed to the Dead Cat Alley project are George Streng (past president of Woodland Art Center), Victoria Lambert, Lucy Ruth Wright Rivers and Joe Scarpa.
Thomas was adamant about the economic benefits of public art and creative activities… and she suggested this was not just a downtown issue, that it was a City of Woodland economic development issue. The importance of attracting creative activities and creative people to the downtown cannot be understated. Economist Richard Florida (“The Rise of the Creative Class”) has done extensive research across the United States on this very subject. Locally, Dead Cat Alley is a good example that public art WILL attract tourists.
So let’s go full circle here. Let’s take Denny’s idea of a magnificent, revolving ride. Add the established attractions of the Woodland Opera House and Dead Cat Alley. Add the idea of a play structure in, or near, Heritage Plaza/Intermission Garden. And maybe borrow a combined idea from Central Park in Davis (think pedal-power) and Comerica Park in Detroit (home of the Tigers)… and we can have a cat-themed carousel, a meowy-go-round, to spark this renaissance of the downtown. Now, this idea might not make it to the top of anyone’s list, but it does show how Denny’s Ferris Wheel concept was not so far-fetched after all.
Time will tell if our city council will adopt some of the old and new ideas presented during the brainstorm, or if they will continue a policy of evading ideas that don’t suit their personal agendas.
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In a Washington Monthly feature economist Richard Florida (“The Rise of the Creative Class”) stated, “More and more businesses understand that ethos and are making the adaptations necessary to attract and retain creative class employees everything from relaxed dress codes, flexible schedules, and new work rules in the office to hiring recruiters who throw Frisbees. Most civic leaders, however, have failed to understand that what is true for corporations is also true for cities and regions: Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don’t.”
Florida continued, “Creative class people value active outdoor recreation very highly. They are drawn to places and communities where many outdoor activities are prevalent—both because they enjoy these activities and because their presence is seen as a signal that the place is amenable to the broader creative lifestyle. The creative-class people in my studies are into a variety of active sports, from traditional ones like bicycling, jogging, and kayaking to newer, more extreme ones, like trail running and snowboarding.”
“Places are also valued for authenticity and uniqueness. Authenticity comes from several aspects of a community—historic buildings, established neighborhoods, a unique music scene, or specific cultural attributes. It comes from the mix—from urban grit alongside renovated buildings, from the commingling of young and old, long-time neighborhood characters and yuppies, fashion models and “bag ladies.” An authentic place also offers unique and original experiences. Thus a place full of chain stores, chain restaurants, and nightclubs is not authentic. You could have the same experience anywhere.”
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