There is a lot of potential for downtown Manteca

Big potential for downtown Manteca

 

Several times a year, the pavers that were not power washed for 20 years are being thoroughly cleaned.

 

As the homeless have dwindled, downtown has lessened into one gigantic flophouse.

 

Throughout the past few years, Manteca city park crews and community service officers have become more efficient in eradicating traces of the homeless that may still be found sleeping in downtown spots at 2 a.m. but are gone shortly after sunrise.

 

The same is true for trash.

 

If you laugh, you're telling the truth, but the street lights strung along the 100 block of Maple Avenue and around the decorative street lights have given downtown a different look at night.

 

More public art is on the way to complement the murals.

 

There are also things that look hopeless. A shuttered and fire-damaged two-story building at the northeast corner of Yosemite and Sycamore.

 

Building improvements have been made with the tools in the city's code enforcement box for a long time. This is a legal process, so it takes time. However, because they were committed to a solution and started working on it, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Also, public places are being rethought. By changing perceptions, increasing the downtown population, and building on reality instead of fantasy, we can change perceptions.

 

As a homeless hangout and for little else most of the year, Wilson Park could be turned into a dog park.

 

The Manteca Library Park gazebo put in place just over a decade ago as a new and better version of the gazebo Antone Raymus gifted to the community that served as the site of countless summer concerts, other events and even weddings is being moved to another park where it can fulfil its potentials.

 

Yes, it is being done so the homeless that have used it as a gathering spot in downtown since almost the beginning do not have a protected place to hang out. This topic can be discussed in many columns.

 

There is no way that building a gazebo within 50 feet of railroad tracks that have over four dozen trains roaring past every 24 hours at 50 mph or more was ever a brilliant decision.

 

It is working with the private sector on bringing people to the park.

 

When cities implement homelessness proofing measures such as securing the library courtyard with wrought iron fencing to prevent overnight encampments, positive collateral impacts can result.

 

There are now outdoor seating areas in the courtyard where patrons can read in the shade and enjoy fresh air during the day.

 

Now that downtown is more inviting and safe, those living there are closer to uniting in a united front.

 

It may result in the establishment and ongoing maintenance of a website, just as many other downtowns have, describing what the city has to offer.

 

The most pressing issue facing downtown is the incorrect narrative being told.

 

Its not Pleasanton. Its Manteca.

 

And while it is not the center of all things Manteca as it was a century ago or the main retail hub as it was during the 1960s and 1970s before the advent of Kmart and then Walmart and Target, it is still very much alive.

 

It's no secret that we enjoy a lot of visitors from San Jose, Tracy, Stockton along with Manteca that pay $30 per ticket to attend specialized cultural concerts at The Veranda, or those that eat Sunday breakfast alfresco at Frank's or meet friends at Brethren Brewing.

 

It's never been so fun to die.

 

Editor Dennis Wyatt writes this column based on his own opinions, not those of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. If you would like to contact him, you can reach him at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com.

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