A Desire Named Street Car

Build and you will use it seems to be the theory behind Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal's new pet project: streetcars criss-crossing Long Beach. Or perhaps it is her turn to support something because the City Council wasted money, yet again, on a consultant and money spent needs defense.

It seems a few years ago the Long Beach City Council paid $69,000 to a consultant to look into the feasibility of putting street cars into Long Beach. Naturally the feasibility is great, otherwise the $69,000 would have been a waste. We'll just widen a street here, take out parking there, lay track at $25 million per mile, and once built the streetcars will be magical. Businesses will spring up along the tracks, Southern Californians will give up their cars and all of downtown's retail woes will be solved.

When it comes to the pro-streetcar crowd they love to quote development in other cities where streetcar lines have been added, and say things like, "streetcars aren't about transportation they are about development." That's good because like the data being released by the White House on jobs created by the Stimulus Package the numbers released by cities on the development resulting from streetcar lines is just as cooked. Take Portland for instance, the beacon of light for those who want to add a streetcar line to a city near you, or around you if you live in Long Beach. Portland boasts of $2.8 billion in new development because of its streetcar lines being put in; and politicians like Lowenthal are quit to quote the number. Has she bothered to Google the figures? Virtually every new development that has occurred within three blocks of the street car line are tossed into the $2.8 billion dollar number. Including hundreds of millions of dollars spent by Portland State Univeristy, millions spent on parking garages, new office buildings that were in planning stages before the streetcars went in, and on and on.

Also not mentioned are the subsidies spent by Portland, over $1 billion and counting, to sustain the streetcars and other light rail, encourage development and try to sustain the projects. But money is not the problem for Long Beach. Lowenthal says it won't cost Long Beach residents anything from the General Fund, we'll just use Federal dollars--it's not as if we pay Federal taxes so it must be OPM, Other-People's-Money. Not surprising for liberal politicians to consider Federal money "free money" to the recipients, Lowenthal is ready for the Democratic Caucus in Congress. If hundreds of millions of dollars are available to build a street car why is that same money not available to improve our current transportation system? Why not use those funds to improve existing corridors and bus routes? Why not let the Federal government keep the money, lower our taxes and extend credits to small businesses? Because it's not pretty and red and has a bell that goes clang-clang as it creeps down the street.

The purpose of the streetcars is development. Development of downtown Long Beach which has seen hundreds of millions of dollars spent on it behalf over the years, from shiny new upscale condo towers, to funky new lights, to redevelopment funds for businesses, to The Pike and Aquarium. And still Pine, Long Beach Boulevard, Atlantic, Broadway, etc have vacant store fronts and businesses that open and close before their first anniversary. Streetcars are the latest "thing" that will finally get a consistent and significant amount of spending by consumers downtown, supposedly. Streetcar development is dependent on high density housing. Downtown Long Beach has plenty of high density housing, unfortunately most of it in the immediate surrounding areas is high density use in low density buildings.

Until our politicians look at the reality and quit using poli-speech to describe problems the problems will never be addressed. Downtown retail is not a failure because there is no way for people from other parts of the city or region to get there--the 710 terminates downtown, several bus lines from Bixby Knolls to Belmont Shore terminate there, a bridge from the Harbor Freeway and San Pedro terminates there, the Blue Line terminates there, the Passport was created for there. Downtown retail is a failure because it is surrounded by low cost, overcrowded, gang infested housing and neighborhoods. While an upscale residential base has been increasing downtown, it is not enough to sustain any consistent retail development. In the meantime within half to three quarters of a mile of Broadway and Pine are over thousands of low income housing units that are overcrowded and surrounding downtown. A hundred thousand people, probably more, who don't shop downtown, don't eat downtown and cost downtown, and the rest of the city, millions in public safety, health and other services.

City Hall keeps approving and looking to add low cost housing to Long Beach, most of it around the downtown area, then on the next agenda item spend more money on more studies to try to find a way to get retail development downtown to take hold and succeed. Lowenthal's desire for streetcars is just the latest idea to syphon more funds in the future from the General Fund to sink into the downtown retail black hole--and along the way encourage high density development.

Maybe it is time for City Hall and council members from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th to take a look north of the 405 for a change. Take a look at Bixby Knolls and the redevelopment and re-invigoration that has been occurring along Atlantic Avenue. New businesses opening and while struggling are succeeding, despite the economic downturn. Vacant buildings being creatively used for the community. Clean streets. Building owners slowly renovating their facades and interiors. A very vibrant relationship between local businesses and surrounding communities. All without a streetcar and very little investment from the City, especially when compared to the investments made downtown and in other parts of the city. But it was all done with one common factor, Blair Cohn who is the leader of the Bixby Knolls Business Association. He was determined to forge a positive relationship between local businesses and local residents, and it is working. Where is that leadership downtown?

Instead of spending another $500,000 plus next year to continue the study of streetcar feasibility, and another $1 million plus the year after that to continue the process, it would instead behoove Lowenthal and her constituents to promote the use of current public transportation, including the Passport bus line that was created specifically for what Lowenthal wants the streetcars to achieve: bring people downtown. If you want downtown retail to succeed and people from Bixby Knolls, Belmont Heights, El Dorado Park Estates, Los Altos to go downtown and spend money, give them something to go for besides a few restaurants and a 7/11.

In the meantime, let's cut our spending losses on the streetcar idea before the city gets sucked into a spending hole for the future. It we don't Long Beach will have a streetcar nicknamed quagmire.

Transforming A Community: Blair Cohn

Friday night we did something we would not have thought about doing a couple of years ago: we spent the evening strolling Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls with friends for other parts of the city and their kids. At Expo the kids had their faces painted like Zombies (or Pandas), there were hot dogs and costumes for a buck. Up and down the street businesses had full tables, music and entertainment and the sidewalks were full of local neighbors and visitors from Belmont Shore, Los Altos, Downtown, North Long Beach, Wrigley. Bixby Knolls was a destination for Long Beach as everyone came to participate in First Fridays, an on going event on Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls that occurs...yes the first Friday of every month. What better way to spend a Friday than to walk around with your kids painted in black theater make-up? Not many!

When Leslie and I moved into Bixby Knolls in August 1998 we had few options available for groceries, restaurants, entertainment and shopping. Slowly the area attracted some big chains, most notably O.S.H. and then the home run: Trader Joes.

Now we can walk to get groceries, we have three chain coffee stores we can visit within a block, sushi, burgers and beer, Lebanese, salons, and upscale ice cream all populate our local area of Bixby Knolls. But more important that than range of retail and restaurant opportunities available to us is the visiting that is occuring in the areas. We have a neighborhood that is engaged and supportive of our local businesses and businesses that are supportive of our local neighborhoods. Bixby Knolls is becoming more and more cohesive as a community. And for this we can thank one man: Blair Cohn.

Cohn is the Executive Director of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association. The BKBIA has been around for a while but has not had any significant impact on the area until Cohn came in as Executive Director. Cohn's hands are all over the BKBIA and its constant outreach to local neighborhoods to get residents and businesses engaged. In an economy when many businesses, big and small, are closing up shop, in Bixby Knolls we are seeing new businesses opening and existing businesses, while perhaps not thriving are staying open. When there are closings we here that it is more about leases and landlords than a decline in business. With the vibrancy of the area and the growth that is occuring landlords are using the opportunity to lift rents on long time tenants.

What has happened in Bixby Knolls? Cohn has brought to the BKBIA that the best way for the members of the BKBIA to survive and thrive was to capture the local residents as customers, loyal customers. How to do this? Cohn has developed with the assistance of his board of directors a litany of events throughout the year to attract not only local residents but visitors from all over the city to Bixby Knolls. Once here the visitors see and experience the great restaurants and shops, and hopefully return for their purchases and dining.

Here is a partial list of the events that are part of the Bixby Knolls scene these days:

First Fridays As mentioned this monthly event has local businesses staying open late, many have live music, many have activities for the kids and it is a wonderful evening strolling, seeing friends, sampling Bixby Knolls.

Bixby Knolls Strollers Meet every Saturday morning for a long walk around neighborhoods in the area, showing the different areas of Bixby Knolls and connecting neighbors to each other. What better way to make a new friend than to walk a couple of miles and have a meandering conversation?

Literacy Society a monthly book club where residents get together to discuss that month's book and once again the opportunity to meet each other and build new relationships.

Happy Hour Again once a month, the BKBIA holds a "Happy Hour" inviting residents and other business owners to visit a BKBIA business to learn about the business, meet other area businesses and residents and to learn about a local non-profit.

Monthly Supper Club Another event that is monthly, this one the first Monday of every month where a local restaurant is selected to host the Supper Club. It gives the restaurants a chance to host new guests and residents a chance to experience a restaurant they perhaps have not been to before.

These are just the regular events that Cohn has established. In addition there are events at the Expo building, a former furniture store that the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency has opened to the BKBIA for events and gatherings. Upcoming is a Jazz night, there are art exhibits and live music throughout the year.

Bixby Knolls is a vibrant, active, engaged and friendlier place because of Blair Cohn. As time goes by many may try to take credit for the resurrection of this part of our city, and to be truthful Cohn cannot do everything himself. It is very apparent however, that prior to Cohn's arrival at the BKBIA there was nothing happening in this part of town. Sure we got our TJ's and some local developers had redeveloped a few sites, but there was no cohesion and no sense of togetherness that exists today. While politicians and city officials gave lip service to the area about improvements, and we have had Atlantic repaved, there was no cohesion nor support between the two groups. For the first eight to nine years we lived in the area we saw incremental and traditional changes--new retail development, empty stores, people driving through. Now we see empty stores displaying art work. We see new businesses geared to children. We see restaurants and shops with cars in front and patrons inside. This activity coincides with Cohn's arrival, coincidence? Hardly.

As a resident of the area I extend my heartfelt thanks to Blair and all his efforts to engage and connect our local businesses and residents to each other for a healthier and happier community. Taking a seemingly simple plan, create simple events that regularly bring together residents and businesses, Cohn has created a community that has come together. With pride when asked where we are from we say, "Bixby Knolls of course!"

Thanks Blair!

Visit the BKBIA Site to learn more about the business association and the events coming up in Bixby Knolls: Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association