Establishing a pedestrian mall at 2000 Broadway and Redwood Creek will have to wait a bit longer after the City Council agreed to push back a final vote on the resolution to make the closure permanent.
Jeff Schwob, Community Development & Transportation Director, said that due to additional comments received regarding the project, he recommended moving the final vote to May 6.
If the ordinance is approved, a final design will likely be presented in the summer, and implementation will begin around the end of the year or early next year, according to Christian Hammack from Parking and Transportation Demand Management.
“I feel strongly that this is one of the best things that has happened to Redwood City due to the pandemic,” said resident Taylor Pope.
Other speakers echoed the approval of the ordinance at the meeting.
“I spoke to over 90 people, and 83 of them signed my petition to keep Broadway permanently closed,” said Dylan Finch, approving the ordinance. “They said that it was great for children in strollers, they felt safer and it was nice to sit outside at the restaurants.”
Support was not unanimous. Cathy Oyster, who owns property in the Fitzpatrick Building on Broadway, wanted clarity on whether the city would be liable for unforeseen damages as a result of the changes.
Council member Diane Howard replied that she was hopeful the concern could be resolved in time for the May 6 vote.
The project implementation is likely to cost $443,000. Redwood City parking revenue is expected to drop by $14,400 due to paid parking spaces no longer being used.
The money would go towards adding loading zones just outside the pedestrian mall, adjusting pavement markings, improving trash collection, and studies to evaluate future plans within the area.
Just for clarity, the comment expressing concerns about economic harm was from someone speaking as a landlord, not a resident. They may also be a resident, but did not make that claim in their comments. As the only negative comment, their emailed comment threatening legal action seems to be what Jeff Schwob referred to as the cause for the staff changing their recommendation from “Approve tonight” to “delay to next meeting so we have time to resolve those concerns”