Keep The Pockets And The One Way Street, Main Street Merchants Demand

The City Council heard a parade of pleas Wednesday to keep the in place, and keep the block a one-way street.

Anne Mobley, owner of White Rabbit Boutique and a member of the Downtown Retailers Focus Group, presented the council with a petition signed by 400 people asking that the block be maintained as a one-way street, and that the so-called pockets – sidewalk extensions that permit outdoor seating for restaurants – be kept in place.

City Engineer Tim Tucker sent a letter to 500 block merchants last month informing them that the city intends to return the 500 block to a two-way street, and reconfigure the pockets to allow two-way traffic. He told Martinez Patch that the City Council has made two-way traffic on the 500 block a priority. The city plans to spend $200,000 in state gas tax money on the project, which would include repaving the street.

Mayor Rob Schroder confirmed that the council considered returning the 500 block to one-way a priority. He also pointed out that the restaurants that use the pockets for seating are using city property and paying nothing for it.

City officials say that the one-way configuration, which was implemented with the original pockets project in 1999 by a group of citizen volunteers led by Dick Duncan, causes traffic snarls, something the merchants say they don’t see.

“Before we get too involved spending a lot of money on design, we want our voices heard that we love our block the way it is,” Mobley said.

“It seems that it’s a foregone conclusion that it’s going to happen without talking to us about it,” said Pat English, owner of Haute Stuff restaurant. “We used to consider the 500 block the bad end of Main Street. Thanks to Dick Duncan and the innovative pockets project, we’ve created a space that has charm, ambiance, and people enjoy it.”

“I need more space, not less,” said Ernie Guerrero, owner of La Tapatia. “If we’re going to go with tables along my building, that’s not going to work for me. I’ll lose money, and I’ll take my business somewhere else.”

Planning Commissioner Harriett Burt told the council that the commission has never been asked to discuss the issue in public, and said the first members heard of it was last month during a capital improvement update.

“I’m one of the many patrons of the Martinez gourmet ghetto, and it’s fabulous to be down there at lunchtime,” Burt said. “I was on the City Council when the 500 block was the orphan of Main Street. The turnaround has been quite remarkable. Let’s build on the successful block.”

Since the remarks were made during the public comment portion of the agenda, the council did not respond, though Schroder did point out that he tried to get an outdoor table at La Tapatia on the Fourth of July, but couldn’t because it was full.