Hansen: Let’s walk off the resistance to downtown revitalization

If you are a parent — or child — you know this lesson all too well:

Child: “I don’t like asparagus.”

Mom: “Have you tried it?”

Child: “Yes, and I don’t like it.”

Years later, the child is now a young adult, visiting on Thanksgiving.

Young adult: “Why aren’t we having asparagus on Thanksgiving?”

Mom: “I thought you didn’t like asparagus!”

Young adult: “Yeah, like, 20 years ago.”

This reminds me of the current squabble taking place over testing the partial closure of Forest Avenue to cars between Coast Highway and Glenneyre Street so that residents, tourists and businesses can enjoy the benefits of asparagus.

The city wants to try the concept in August and September and will hear from a consultant at the June 16 council meeting. Locals and the business community immediately supported the idea, believing it’s way overdue.

However, a small group of recalcitrant business owners, many whose shops close at 5 p.m., eventually came out of the woodwork and are now protesting, saying it will hurt their business.

Frankly, they are clinging to a 20-year-old business model:

• Back when turquoise was still popular.

• When on-street parking was considered the only way for economic vitality.

• When residents went to the butcher, shoe cobbler and five-and-dime store to pay with checks.

Not to state the obvious, but that horse has left the barn.

While opponents don’t like to hear it, dozens of studies prove beyond a doubt that pedestrian-friendly zones are good for business. Not only that, they are the right thing to do if we care at all about the environment, our health and civic pride.

Fewer cars circling for spots is a good thing. Walking around is also good and the civic pride will be a shot in the arm that Laguna needs. We need to move forward with downtown revitalization, not stay where we’ve been.

Granted, Laguna Beach is not Santa Monica, New York or Copenhagen. In order to revitalize our downtown, we would need a better long-term transportation and parking plan. We need more efficient parking — somewhere — with more reliable transit.

We’re getting better at some of this, but we still have a long way to go.

Which is why city officials are quick to point out that this road closure and enhancement is a test. They want to see how it will work, and I for one think it’s going to exceed all expectations.

The question is not whether we should close that small stretch of Forest but why didn’t we do it a long time ago.

The answer lies in the asparagus story, and we’re not alone.

Every city that has had to give up parking spaces to pedestrians has faced a similar backlash from small businesses. And in every case, the studies ultimately proved them wrong. For example, according to Smart Growth America:

• San Francisco’s Mission District: Nearby businesses saw sales increase by 60% when there was an improvement in pedestrian traffic.

• Toronto’s Bloor Street: Nearly three-quarters of the merchants said they saw improved business.

• Lancaster, Calif.: A downtown revitalization effort and pedestrian-only plaza resulted in a 26% increase in sales tax and 800 new jobs.

The reports of positive results are endless. According to the N.Y. Daily News, on Fordham Road near the Grand Concourse, merchants complained vociferously that the removal of on-street parking would kill their business. Instead, sales increased 71% over a three-year period.

In every measurable way, pedestrian improvements, traffic calming, better streetscape, sidewalk cafes and other amenities always improve sales across the board.

It’s hard to even call this issue a “debate” because the evidence is so overwhelming.

But beyond the numbers, there is a cultural point to be made.

Laguna Beach can continue to cower to a small number of Luddites or it can join the rest of the world and become a true world-class city.

Let’s start downtown with some really good fried asparagus. It’s such an easy appetizer.

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.