2018 November COLONY Magazine

Calming the Corridor
Downtown Design Calls for Slower Pace and More Parking Space in the Colony District
By Kofi Ogbujiagba
The Atascadero City Council is currently
considering a plan to calm traffic
along the El Camino Real corridor in
Atascadero and if approved, it would transform
downtown into a calmer and more business
and traffic-friendly hub of activity that could
boost business and increase the recreational
opportunities for both residents and visitors.
The plan would merge the existing four
lanes of the corridor into one lane in each direction,
from the intersection of Highway 41
to the intersection of Rosario Avenue, with the
purpose to enhance public safety and provide
additional facilities for leisure.
According to the City Public Works Department,
the design layouts “provide for
pedestrian and bicycle safety with enhanced
facilities and traffic calming measures. The layouts
significantly increase the number of onstreet
public parking for visitors patronizing
businesses and attending special events.”
According to Community Development
Director Phil Dunsmore, the plan would create
a “sense of place” and increase economic
opportunities in the downtown area.
“It would also create a kind of intimacy
whereby people can drive in and relax and not
just drive through the city,’ he said.
Terrie Banish, Deputy City Manager for
Outreach, Promotions and Events, said that
the plan would boost business by encouraging
people to come downtown to enjoy events
— such as farmers’ market, Dancing in the
Streets, Colony Days, and others.
It would help the City to show its downtown
charm and “showcase our friendly community
— classic Americana,” Banish said.
When completed, each of the two lanes
would have street parking spaces and also some
decorative trees to beautify the sidewalks as
well as bike paths for the growing number of
cyclists who find the downtown corridor ideal
for biking.
The plan is envisaged to invite shoppers and
other visitors to the downtown area to get acclimated
to a more leisurely pace of life that
would encourage people to stop, park, shop
and patronize the various bars, restaurants and
businesses that are located in the area.
The plan has received favorable comments
from some business owners who believe that
it would help their businesses to thrive. Annie
Guerrero, Assistant Manager of the Carlton
Hotel, said that “slowing down cars makes for
a better downtown.”
Expectedly, there are mixed reactions from
some members of the Atascadero business
community to the Traffic Calming Proposal.
Fred Pflum, Owner of Pflum’s Atascadero
Muffler & Used Cars, whose shop is at the
intersection of El Camino Real and Traffic
Way, was very critical of the idea.
“It is the dumbest thing that I have seen in
this city. Traffic is already hazardous and if they
merge the lanes, it is going to be worse than it
is,” he said. He urged the city planners to visit
the intersection of Traffic Way and El Camino
Real at 7:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. on weekdays
to see what it is like there. According to him, “
it is a fiasco at this intersection when the kids
go to school in the morning or when they get
out of school later in the day.”
Dennis Swanson, Owner/Photographer of
Studio 101 West was more measured in his
response.
“I would rather have the traffic the way that
it is because there are no businesses on the
other side [Rabobank side] of the street that
warrants additional parking spaces.”
According to the Public Works Department,
KTUA of San Diego is assisting the City with
the analysis and development of the corridor
plan while CCTC OF Morro Bay is working
as a subconsultant to KTUA to provide traffic
engineering and operations analysis.
5935 Entrada Ave.,
Atascadero, Ca 93422
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(805)296-3600
22 | colonymagazine.com COLONY Magazine, November 2018