Downtown Manteca has a lot of potential

Big potential for downtown Manteca

 

Many years have passed since paving was last power washed.

 

In recent years, downtown has become one gigantic flophouse for homeless people.

 

Combined with community service officers, Manteca city park crews have become even more efficient at removing the homeless that are still present in much lesser numbers around downtown spots at 2 a.m. They are gone shortly after sunrise.

 

As far as trash is concerned, the same applies.

 

Downtown has taken on a different hue at night with the string of lights strung across Maple Avenue and the decorative poles surrounding them.

 

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

 

You see things that seem hopeless as well. Two-story Sycamore Arms on Yosemite and Sycamore, closed and damaged by fire.

 

It has taken the city a long time to get the building up to code enforcement standards. Due to the nature of the legal process, 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.

 

Public places are also being rethought. It's about changing perceptions, attracting more people downtown, and focusing on reality instead of fantasy.

 

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

 

It was built just over a decade ago as a new, improved version of the gazebo Antone Raymus donated to the community in his lifetime. This gazebo has hosted countless summer concerts, other events and even weddings is being moved to another park where it can fulfil its potentials.

 

The homeless who have commandeered it from day one as a hangout are being kept from having a gathering place in downtown which protects them from the elements. It would be possible to devote numerous columns to discussing the pros and cons of such an approach.

 

In reality, putting a gazebo for concerts within 50 feet of railroad tracks that have over forty trains roaring by every 24 hours at 50 mph or more was never an excellent idea.

 

In order to attract visitors to the park, the city is working with the private sector.

 

Choosing to eliminate overnight encampments in the Manteca library courtyard by securing it with wrought iron fencing can have positive collateral effects.

 

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

 

Now, those that have invested their time and money to make a living downtown are closer than ever to banding together to make the city's central district more welcoming and safe.

 

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.

 

Downtown's biggest problem is the wrong story 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.

 

There are plenty of people from San Jose, Tracy, Stockton as well as Manteca paying $30 for tickets to specialized cultural concerts at the Veranda, eating al fresco at Franks or meeting friends at Brethren Brewing.

 

This is the most exciting way to die.

 

Dennis Wyatt's opinion does not necessarily reflect that of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. DWYATT's email address is dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

High Quality Fence
https://highqualityfence.com/
(209) 815-9015

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