Davis, CA – G Street opened this week to mixed reviews and emotions. The city was quick to note that this is only the first phase of the project.
Mayor Bapu Vaitla said, “The first phase of infrastructure is complete as you see behind me and it’s ready for the community to enjoy. But there is a second phase coming up. The city plans to implement more further enhancements to the space over time, including additional furniture groups needing art and family friendly activities, music and special events, signage and more.”
As important, city staff told the Vanguard on Monday that the furniture and settings that are laid out are not fixed in place. Restaurants, coming as soon as February, will be able to rent space and place their own seating out on the street where people can sit, eat and dine.
Pretty soon Woodstock’s and Temple will have their seating outside and that will change the dynamics of the project.
But something else occurred to me yesterday morning at 6 am, still dark in the January morning, as I walked back with my morning coffee from Temple—the street looks completely different now.
When the work on G St. was taking place, there were fences with tarps over them blocking the line of sight to the street. But it also created a corridor on both sides of the street.
Along both sides of G St., you had homeless people, sleeping in doorways or on the benches by the G St. parking lot.
Those are all gone. The street which was covered with debris and trash is clean. The new openness has reduced the amount of visible blight.
And this is just the start. Even in the cool January weather, more people are out and about on G St. and that will only increase once restaurants will have their seating.
Moreover, the plans for housing to be built at the site of the old Ace Housewares building are moving forward. Once that location opens, dynamics will change still further.
Obviously, the opening of G St. didn’t suddenly solve the city’s homeless problem.
I spoke with city officials, however, earlier this week and noted the change.
The situation has fluctuated greatly over the last few years. Prior to the pandemic, there were numerous people sleeping and walking around downtown. But they largely disappeared during the pandemic, as many were housed in hotel rooms under the auspices of Project Roomkey.
When that program ended, however, things slowly reverted back to the way they were.
So why have things gotten worse in the last year? City officials explained that some communities have been very aggressive in clearing their homeless encampments. That has had the effect of dispersing them to other communities.
Davis is a place where homeless like to go because the community is relatively hospitable to them, not to mention a good deal safer than in other locations.
However, the problem with that is not only does it create additional unsheltered homeless for our community to deal with—far worse is the fact that they aren’t eligible for services here. Homeless people can only receive services in their county of origin.
That means that for most of the folks that have recently moved here, officials have to work to convince them to return to their counties of origin where they can receive services.
All of this of course is subject to ebbs and flows, but for the businesses on G St., the new environment can help to revive this portion of the downtown.
Time will tell as to how well this new approach works, but we are already seeing a big difference.
These photos were taken on Wednesday around 7 am…
“Along both sides of G St., you had homeless people, sleeping in doorways or on the benches by the G St. parking lot.
Those are all gone.”
Where did they go?
Somewhere, it’s not like they solved the homeless problem.
“Where did they go?”
Some of them are down by my house. 200′ east and 200′ west, and 250′ southeast. Is it the same “they” ? I cannot say, as I don’t track individuals, but I know they are there by their wanton disregard for their so-called “neighbors” re: discarded trash.
“Where will they go?” is the oft whined talking point of the so-called ‘homeless advocate’. Well, when they are pushed out of downtown, they disperse into the dark corners of adjacent neighborhoods, where they are then an issue for residents rather than businesses downtown. Hallelujah! . . . pass the Tylenol.
“The city was quick to note that this is only the first phase of the project.”
A little too quick if you ask me. It was almost as if they read all the negative reviews and had that talking point with instructions for everyone to say that. I was talking with a friend about the flaws at the so-called “opening” (the street is still closed to traffic), and this random woman butts into our conversation and says, “This is only the first phase, y’know. And you can move the furniture.” Who asked you? But I’m sure she was one of the minions that was instructed on the talking points.
It was in their initial press release, it was in all the updates that they provided businesses on G St, before anything was unveiled, but yeah…
Alan says: “This is only the first phase, y’know. And you can move the furniture.” Who asked you? But I’m sure she was one of the minions that was instructed on the talking points.”
I like to think that the “minions” were also paid through the “American Rescue Plan” act. Probably the same people who were paid to tell us that the “Inflation Reduction Act” reduced inflation.