Community Engagement
Thank you to all community members who came out to join staff and Urban Field Studio at the May 16 outdoor in-person workshop. More community engagement is being planned, including the launch of an online survey, Summer and Fall community workshops to hear updates and gain input and staff and the design team will be out at community events this summer. Additional details will be added here.
Monthly Merchants Meetings
Staff and Urban Field Studio are meeting with Cal Ave. merchants monthly to address near-term improvements and plan the future design of the car-free portion of Cal Ave. and expanding outreach Citywide in May as noted above.
February: At the end of February staff and Urban Field Studio met with Cal Ave. merchants to introduce the design team, the project timeline, scope of services and Urban Field Studio’s initial impressions of Cal Ave. Staff presented merchant priorities for near-term improvements. Review the presentation.(PDF, 20MB)
March: At the end of March staff and Urban Field Studio conducted an in-person workshop on place identity, branding, wayfinding and signage, with an update on near-term improvements to replace the temporary barriers. The workshop located on Cal Ave. with 14 Cal Ave merchants attending gained feedback on: what attracts residents and visitors to Cal Ave.; visual preferences for signage; and functional signage needs and desires. Merchants were updated on the status of cleaning, maintenance, and near-term projects.
April: At the end of April, staff and Urban Field Studio meet in-person with Cal Ave. merchants at Gamelandia. Staff updated the merchants on near-term improvement concepts for Cal Ave. at El Camino Real, Ash Street and Birch Street comprised of colored paving, planters, signage and bollards, including an implementation timeline over the next several months with a targeted completion of Fall 2024. Urban Field Studio outlined their design brief and next steps on place identity, signage, and wayfinding. Urban Field Studio engaged merchants on vision, goals and design preferences to inform the design of street concepts for the future of Cal Ave. Review the presentation.(PDF, 17MB)
May: On May 28, City staff, Urban Field Studio and Kimley-Horn conducted an in-person merchant workshop on Cal Ave at Gamelandia. Merchants provided feedback on proposed place identity signage concepts and mapping of circulation needs, issues and opportunities. Staff participated in the 45 annual Evergreen Park neighborhood block party, hearing resident interests regarding vacant storefronts, desire for California Avenue to have neighborhood serving uses, questions on pedestrian safety and how to create a slow-speed bike infrastructure, support for the farmers’ market, interest in having places to go where you don’t have to pay, and other topics.
June: On June 25, City staff and Urban Field Studio presented the approach to framing alternatives for preliminary design to Cal Ave. merchants. This was framed as three potential levels of change for street design and programming to meet City Council objectives: minimal change, focused improvements and reimagining the street. Merchants provided their priorities on draft evaluation criteria covering economic vitality, mobility, and community social and cultural life.
July: On July 30, City staff and Urban Field Studio conducted a Merchant workshop on outdoor patio guidelines and standards. Staff summarized City Council direction and considerations with adapting the City’s on-going parklet program to Cal Ave.'s unique context. Urban Field Studio presented example guidelines from Mountain View and a range of potential outdoor dining design elements. The workshop activity focused on merchant preferences regarding desirable and undesirable design elements for overhead shelter, patio enclosures, seating, merchandising, lighting, planting, branding, safety, customer needs, trash and recycling.