Having a Target in town has been a boon. But the entrance into the parking lot has been less than stellar. Even when Eastview little league was at the site water would pool along Capitol, not draining towards the strom drain. Target unfortunately put a driveway right where the water pools. As a result, we end up with big pot holes in the entrance of Target. Besides some cars bottoming out, this is an eye sore.
It seems to me that Target should work to fix the pot holes by creating a concrete entrance. Similar to the way we use concrete at the bus stops to keep the road from eroding, we should cement the part of Capitol in front of the entrance way. This would provide the extra strength needed to handle the increased traffic. I think this is the best option. The other option would be to move the entrance into Target up the street where the water does not pool as much.
Let me know what you think.
Just a Guy from Pedro
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Downtown Ghost Town
The holidays are always good in San Pedro. Since it is a small town in a big city, and most people stay here for the holidays you can catch a more relaxed town vibe. The only problem is that you have to go out of town to do most of your holiday shopping. The Del Amo mall was a zoo this year. Tons of people, no parking. I did try to do some of my shopping in town, but half the store fronts were closed. And of the store fronts that were open a good number were thrift shops, lower than Target retail shops (almost garage sale or bazaar type stores), or high end art shops. There were no medium level stores. I do think the San Pedro Chamber of commerce a(http://www.sanpedrochamber.com/) needs to do more to make downtown San Pedro more vibrant. Below are Just a Guys suggestions:
- Bring in a big retailer to downtown to form the hub. A Kohls for example. Not all downtowns need a big retail store, but all downtowns need a reason to go downtown. Restraunts are great, but you need money to go out to eat with your families, and you can't expect a town of 80,000 to do that every day.
- Zone 6th and 7th streets with a better mix of retail stores. There are too many low end stores to make it worth the trip to go shopping downtown. I would suggest that the San Pedro Chamber members buy and play Sim City to get a better appreciation of how to set up a good retail mix. As it stands today, the shops don't feed off each other, they all stand alone.
- Move the adult center out of down town. I do like the fact that there is housing above the shops, but do I really need a senior center downtown? It adds no foot traffic and actually is dirty enough to disuage traffic.
- Provide core business hours for down town. You would expect that the holidays would be brisk with shopping traffic, but all the shop owners work independently. It would be good to know that all shops would be open from 10:00 - 4:00 every day.
- Remember that cruise line traffic will not save down town. It has not done so to date, and it will not in the future. Pedro is for San Pedrans. You can't expect tourist to go down town when the residents that live here won't go downtown. Tourists don't like shopping in a ghost town any more than the locals. Also, the cruise lines are and will be a long walk from down town. Waiting for trains or the red car to feed people to downtown will be a long wait. Besides, when someone spends a lot of money to go on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera what reason do they have to buy souveniers from San Pedro when they want to buy Catalina or Mexican momentos.
- Remember that the Port is about the Port. They will do what they want in their best interest. Expecting them to help revitalize downtown would be nice, but they are not obligated to do so. As such, San Pedrans need to fend for themselves.
- Re-fashion the new housing downtown to better serve the community. I would market the lofts as college housing (to help our kids living in town), or change the loft structure to better match what families expect from a home. Building the lofts makes sense from a business perspective (higher unit count), but the expectation that San Pedro would pull in a bunch of single people like Redondo Beach was unrealistic.
- Add a little more parking to better support the Warner Grand. I know the Warner Grand has problems staying afloat, but lack of safe, close parking hinders the amount of attendance the venue could have.
- Clean up the vacant lots downtown to make them usable or to make them small parks. Nothing says urban plight more than an unkept vacant lot.
- Work to more fully populate the downtown store fronts. There are still quite a few empty store fronts. The San Pedro Chamber should get the owners together to develop a retail/rental approach to help motivate businesses to relocate or to start in downtown. Stores feed off each other. Having more stores will raise all boats.
These are just some thoughts from a Guy from San Pedro. The free parking downtown during the holidays has been good. Now, if we only had a reason to go downtown.
Happy Holidays
Just a Guy from Pedro
- Bring in a big retailer to downtown to form the hub. A Kohls for example. Not all downtowns need a big retail store, but all downtowns need a reason to go downtown. Restraunts are great, but you need money to go out to eat with your families, and you can't expect a town of 80,000 to do that every day.
- Zone 6th and 7th streets with a better mix of retail stores. There are too many low end stores to make it worth the trip to go shopping downtown. I would suggest that the San Pedro Chamber members buy and play Sim City to get a better appreciation of how to set up a good retail mix. As it stands today, the shops don't feed off each other, they all stand alone.
- Move the adult center out of down town. I do like the fact that there is housing above the shops, but do I really need a senior center downtown? It adds no foot traffic and actually is dirty enough to disuage traffic.
- Provide core business hours for down town. You would expect that the holidays would be brisk with shopping traffic, but all the shop owners work independently. It would be good to know that all shops would be open from 10:00 - 4:00 every day.
- Remember that cruise line traffic will not save down town. It has not done so to date, and it will not in the future. Pedro is for San Pedrans. You can't expect tourist to go down town when the residents that live here won't go downtown. Tourists don't like shopping in a ghost town any more than the locals. Also, the cruise lines are and will be a long walk from down town. Waiting for trains or the red car to feed people to downtown will be a long wait. Besides, when someone spends a lot of money to go on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera what reason do they have to buy souveniers from San Pedro when they want to buy Catalina or Mexican momentos.
- Remember that the Port is about the Port. They will do what they want in their best interest. Expecting them to help revitalize downtown would be nice, but they are not obligated to do so. As such, San Pedrans need to fend for themselves.
- Re-fashion the new housing downtown to better serve the community. I would market the lofts as college housing (to help our kids living in town), or change the loft structure to better match what families expect from a home. Building the lofts makes sense from a business perspective (higher unit count), but the expectation that San Pedro would pull in a bunch of single people like Redondo Beach was unrealistic.
- Add a little more parking to better support the Warner Grand. I know the Warner Grand has problems staying afloat, but lack of safe, close parking hinders the amount of attendance the venue could have.
- Clean up the vacant lots downtown to make them usable or to make them small parks. Nothing says urban plight more than an unkept vacant lot.
- Work to more fully populate the downtown store fronts. There are still quite a few empty store fronts. The San Pedro Chamber should get the owners together to develop a retail/rental approach to help motivate businesses to relocate or to start in downtown. Stores feed off each other. Having more stores will raise all boats.
These are just some thoughts from a Guy from San Pedro. The free parking downtown during the holidays has been good. Now, if we only had a reason to go downtown.
Happy Holidays
Just a Guy from Pedro
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Port vs Pedro
It should be no surprise that the Port of Los Angeles rejected the plan for a new shipyard. I am sure that the cost benefit analysis for the use of the land did not pan out. I am sure that the Port believes they can make more money using the land for more containers. The problem is that no one knows how to put a price on the value of jobs to the community, or the value of job diversity to the community, or the value of brining back a once dead industry to the community.
The port has once again put the Port above the community. Having a means to diversify the San Pedro job base would have been good for the community. Having a means to diversify the job base could mean higher skilled labor in the community. Having a diversified job base would help keep the community going in tough times like when the container business slows down.
Where are the community representatives on the Harbor Commission? Where is the local representation? It does not exists enough. And it does not exist to the extent necessary to ensure a good balance between the Port and the community it resides in and is surrounded by. The Port is a business, but a business that was created by the community it resides in. That link has been lost.
I hope the Los Angeles and San Pedro communities speak up. The future of our town requires a diverse job base that can handle slow downs in any one industry. The future of our town requires the creation of new higher skill jobs. San Pedro families need jobs that require more from our children than non-high school level educations. We can't expect our children to finish school when the jobs in the community do not require it.
Please San Pedro speak up.
Just a guy from Pedro
The port has once again put the Port above the community. Having a means to diversify the San Pedro job base would have been good for the community. Having a means to diversify the job base could mean higher skilled labor in the community. Having a diversified job base would help keep the community going in tough times like when the container business slows down.
Where are the community representatives on the Harbor Commission? Where is the local representation? It does not exists enough. And it does not exist to the extent necessary to ensure a good balance between the Port and the community it resides in and is surrounded by. The Port is a business, but a business that was created by the community it resides in. That link has been lost.
I hope the Los Angeles and San Pedro communities speak up. The future of our town requires a diverse job base that can handle slow downs in any one industry. The future of our town requires the creation of new higher skill jobs. San Pedro families need jobs that require more from our children than non-high school level educations. We can't expect our children to finish school when the jobs in the community do not require it.
Please San Pedro speak up.
Just a guy from Pedro
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Home for the Holidays
San Pedro is not like many other cities in Los Angeles. For many Pedrans our families are in town. There are no planes to catch. No cars to pack. Just call up your Mom and Dad and cruise on across town or down the street. Pretty sweet.
San Pedro is not like many other cities in Los Angeles. For many Pedrans their is no place like home. Most Pedrans don't travel to the mountains or anywhere else. Why go elsewhere when you can go to Royal Palms and watch the sun set, or cruise Cabrillo Beach, or go to lunch with friends while having a cold one. Pretty sweet.
Just a reminder. Pedro has a holiday parade and singing at the fountains by the cruise line. So get out there and enjoy the Holidays.
Happy Holidays.
Just a Guy from Pedro
San Pedro is not like many other cities in Los Angeles. For many Pedrans their is no place like home. Most Pedrans don't travel to the mountains or anywhere else. Why go elsewhere when you can go to Royal Palms and watch the sun set, or cruise Cabrillo Beach, or go to lunch with friends while having a cold one. Pretty sweet.
Just a reminder. Pedro has a holiday parade and singing at the fountains by the cruise line. So get out there and enjoy the Holidays.
Happy Holidays.
Just a Guy from Pedro
Monday, October 11, 2010
Small Town in a Big City
Just the other day I met a nice midwestern mom who has been in San Pedro for over 20 years. When asked how she ended up in Pedro she says a friend told her about it. Her friend told her about how San Pedro is a small town in a big city. San Pedro is a place like many small towns across America where everyone knows your name, your dad's name, mom's name, the name of the soccer team you played on, etc. Some people like to leave town, make their own names for themselves. But at the end of the day, no matter where you go there you are. You can be in NY, but you will always be you, and you will always have a bit of Pedro in you.
We have a pretty funky town, lots of different interests, but we do have motivated people that care, we have a good small town vibe. Enjoy your day.
Just a guy from Pedro.
We have a pretty funky town, lots of different interests, but we do have motivated people that care, we have a good small town vibe. Enjoy your day.
Just a guy from Pedro.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Ponte Vista Back in the News
The September 24th Daily Breeze (http://www.dailybreeze.com/) announced a revised plan for Ponte Vista. The new development plan proposes 1,135 units. A lot less than the 2,300 units originally proposed. And to make us feel better Janice Hahn has apparently a "favorable" reaction to the plan. One would think that we may actually be close to agree on the plan for Ponte Vista. But...
Using the same density as Gardens this area would have 800 to 900 units. San Pedro is about 44% single family homes. And on Western the closest developments are the densest. The Raquet Club development and the new units in the back have already increased density in the area. We need balance in San Pedro. We need a good mix of Single Family homes and multi-family residences.
San Pedro is a hardworking family town where people live for generations. A dense development already near dense developments does not help create an environment where people will stay for generations. People talk about the need for low income homes, but have they not seen the rest of San Pedro. We just finished dense developments downtown, that are not sold yet. Do we need more of the same? I think the market has spoken, Pedran's need space, they like their single family homes where they can live for years.
Let us not repeat the mistakes of Downtown up on Western. Let us give San Pedro the development they expected when the planners approved it as R1 (single family homes).
I know we need to get the ball rolling on Ponte Vista, but repeating mistakes from Downtown won't help the developer make money, and won't make San Pedro better.
Just a guy from Pedro.
Using the same density as Gardens this area would have 800 to 900 units. San Pedro is about 44% single family homes. And on Western the closest developments are the densest. The Raquet Club development and the new units in the back have already increased density in the area. We need balance in San Pedro. We need a good mix of Single Family homes and multi-family residences.
San Pedro is a hardworking family town where people live for generations. A dense development already near dense developments does not help create an environment where people will stay for generations. People talk about the need for low income homes, but have they not seen the rest of San Pedro. We just finished dense developments downtown, that are not sold yet. Do we need more of the same? I think the market has spoken, Pedran's need space, they like their single family homes where they can live for years.
Let us not repeat the mistakes of Downtown up on Western. Let us give San Pedro the development they expected when the planners approved it as R1 (single family homes).
I know we need to get the ball rolling on Ponte Vista, but repeating mistakes from Downtown won't help the developer make money, and won't make San Pedro better.
Just a guy from Pedro.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Pedro Pride
San Pedro is known for it's independent spirit. For a small town of about 80,000. there are nooks and crannies of small communities everywhere. One of the more highly visible of these small communities is Eastview Little League. A self-run baseball league, the Eastview Little League has been a staple of the San Pedro commmunity for years. Nothing exemplifies the Pedro spirit more then the tenacity and creativeness of the Eastview Little League finding a home after the DiCarlo bakery was sold along with their baseball fields.
There was a bit of controversy over Eastview's move to Knoll Hill which displaced a nice dog park. The initial plan was that the new Eastview home would only be for three years. The ultimate plan was to provide even more container space for the Port. Now, the Port has agreed to let Eastview stay longer. Awesome!!
There are good reasons for the Port to allow the Eastview Little League to stay longer. First, a poor economy makes money tight and the Port's need for the space not as urgent. Second, the Eastview Little League is great PR for the Port. If you are going to give back to the community countering the Port's environmental impact, a nice green park for children to play on is a great way to go.
Eastview Little League is a great local institution. I am glad they will have a home for a while longer. A baseball park is better than more containers. And I know that dogs and their owners were displaced. But at some point the value of hundreds of children has got to be worth more than a hundred or so dogs that actually used the park previously. The greater good for the town has been served by letting Eastview Little League use Knoll hill.
Nothing exemplifies Pedro Pride better than Eastview Little League. Standing up for children, making our town better, and doing it against all odds. Not too shabby.
Just a guy from Pedro
There was a bit of controversy over Eastview's move to Knoll Hill which displaced a nice dog park. The initial plan was that the new Eastview home would only be for three years. The ultimate plan was to provide even more container space for the Port. Now, the Port has agreed to let Eastview stay longer. Awesome!!
There are good reasons for the Port to allow the Eastview Little League to stay longer. First, a poor economy makes money tight and the Port's need for the space not as urgent. Second, the Eastview Little League is great PR for the Port. If you are going to give back to the community countering the Port's environmental impact, a nice green park for children to play on is a great way to go.
Eastview Little League is a great local institution. I am glad they will have a home for a while longer. A baseball park is better than more containers. And I know that dogs and their owners were displaced. But at some point the value of hundreds of children has got to be worth more than a hundred or so dogs that actually used the park previously. The greater good for the town has been served by letting Eastview Little League use Knoll hill.
Nothing exemplifies Pedro Pride better than Eastview Little League. Standing up for children, making our town better, and doing it against all odds. Not too shabby.
Just a guy from Pedro
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