Businesses whose storefronts are located on recently pedestrianized streets (streets that have been redesigned exclusively for pedestrians use) in two California cities overwhelmingly say the change has been good for business, according to a survey conducted by Santa Rosa YIMBY. The results point to how repurposing portions of downtown streets for exclusive pedestrian use could help bring more people downtown and boost pedestrian traffic while increasing sales, tax revenue, and overall vibrancy.
Santa Rosa YIMBY circulated a survey to businesses located on recently pedestrianized portions of Mill Street in Grass Valley and San Pedro Square in San José. Fifteen businesses in each city responded to the survey, out of a total possible 42 along Grass Valley’s pedestrianized corridor and 20 along San José’s. The cities were chosen because their pedestrianization projects were both recent so that existing merchants could give a fresh perspective on how the project has impacted their business.
Highlights include:
70% say pedestrianization has been positive for their businesses, with 33% saying pedestrianization has been “very positive”.
70% say pedestrianization has increased foot traffic on the street, with 37% saying foot traffic has “increased significantly”.
53% say pedestrianization has increased sales/revenue, with 37% reporting “no change”, and 6% reporting a decrease.
70% of businesses report foot traffic increasing since the pedestrianization project, with 37 percent reporting significant increases. Twenty percent reported no change, and 10 percent reported decreases.
See the complete survey results here.
See the complete survey results for San José's San Pedro Square here.
See the complete survey results for Grass Valley's Mill Street here.
The survey comes as the City of Santa Rosa debates pedestrianizing portions of 4th street downtown. In May 2024, Santa Rosa’s then-Mayor Natalie Rogers asked city staff to prepare options for pedestrianizing portions of downtown to make it a more inviting place for people, tourists, residents, and families to spend time and money. The issue of pedestrian space is particularly important for downtown Santa Rosa, where car infrastructure occupy more space than all businesses, housing, parks, and pedestrian space combined. It’s hard to build a memorable, vibrant urban space that draws locals and tourism when 47% of our downtown is asphalt. City staff are currently preparing a report back to City Council in June. Santa Rosa YIMBY has vocally supported protecting and expanding downtown’s pedestrian spaces—from opposing the replacement of the Agraria hand statue in front Santa Rosa Plaza with yet more parking, to circulating a petition in support of pedestrianizing 4th street which has over 200 signatures as of this writing.
The experiences of Grass Valley and San José are instructive.
Grass Valley’s Mill Street pedestrianization was, start to finish, a much more comprehensive project. With a budget of $5.3 million, the project involved a complete rebuilding of Mill Street, ungrounding its utilities, repaving the street in cobble-stone-looking stamped concrete, new street lights, overhead string lights, stone street furniture like benches and planters, and a new 33-car parking lot to replace the 33 on-street parking spots lost during the pedestrianization. By contrast, San Jose’s San Pedro Square Project consisted of a street mural and bollards that took about four days to complete and cost about $60,000 (though the square later added a parklet with more seating options).
It’s worthwhile to dive a little deeper on the parking impacts of both projects, since that will likely be a top concern among Santa Rosa merchants. Like many Gold Rush era mining towns in the Sierra foothills, Grass Valley’s downtown still retains the charmingly dense storefronts common from the pre-car era. What gives Grass Valley it’s charm also makes parking relatively scarce: Grass Valley has only about 377 public parking spaces in the downtown core (277 spaces in its public lots plus about 100 curb spaces within two blocks of Mill Street). To pedestrianize Mill Street, the city opted to make parking in the downtown even more scarce by relocating 33 curb parking spots, equivalent to 8.75 percent of the total capacity of Grass Valley’s downtown public parking capacity, to a new 33-car-capacity surface lot 1,000 feet south of downtown, nearly the exact distance by foot as that separating the Mendocino Ave entrance to Courthouse Square with the 7th Street Parking Garage in Santa Rosa, the farthest public garage from the square. By contrast, the San Pedro project cost only 10 curb parking spots, just .72% of the parking available in the 1,393-car-capacity Market Street parking garage opposite San Pedro Square itself, not counting the surrounding curb-parking opportunities on the surrounding blocks.
And yet, despite its higher cost and lengthier and more disruptive build out, Mill Street merchants were more supportive of their pedestrianization project than their counterparts in San Pedro Square, with 94% or merchants satisfied with the infrastructure improvements made during the pedestrianization project (e.g., seating, landscaping, lighting), including 87% of respondents saying they were “very satisfied.” By contrast, 60% of San José merchants reported being satisfied with the infrastructure improvements with 40% “very satisfied”. Furthermore, no Grass Valley merchants reported decreases in sales/revenue following pedestrianization while two of the 15 San José merchants reported decreased sales/revenue. As one Grass Valley merchant gushed, “It looks like a Hallmark movie!” (scroll to the bottom to read the complete comments).
LESSONS FOR SANTA ROSA
Go all-in. Successful pedestrianization means more than just closing a road off to cars, it involves transforming a space designed for cars into a space designed for people. Going all-in with people-centered paving, art, lighting, furniture, programming, and security, all contribute to creating a desirable pedestrian space that will pay off in the end.
Parking isn’t a problem. Santa Rosa has a huge parking surplus that will allow it to accommodate a large pedestrianization project. For example, pedestrianizing 4th Street between B and E streets would cost 83 parking spots, roughly 2.3 percent of Courthouse Square’s total public parking inventory, which includes 2,834 spaces in public garages, 410 in public surface lots, and 351 curb spaces. According to the city’s own analysis, 75 percent of these spaces go unused on a typical busy day. That’s not even counting the 2,908-car capacity Santa Rosa Plaza garage.
Don’t forget about Railroad Square. 4th Street between Davis and Wilson Street should absolutely be a strong contender for pedestrianization. The north side of the street is lined almost entirely with restaurants which fare particularly well under pedestrianization and which could vastly expand outdoor seating. RR Square is also located adjacent to SMART, the Creek Trail, and the SMART trail, making it safe and convenient to access by rail and bike for many residents. RR Square is also growing quickly, with new residents at the Pullman Lots, the Cannery project, and the upcoming 6th Street development by Cornerstone. This neighborhood growth will create demand and enable more car-free pedestrian space. Railroad Square’s quaint charm also makes it an ideal canvas to maximize placemaking (let’s get that water tower next to the Cannery back up). Pedestrianizing 4th Street between Wilson and Davis in Railroad Square would cost 50 of RR Square’s 346 parking spots, roughly 14 percent, again not counting the 2,908 car-capacity Santa Rosa Plaza garage nearby.
Programming and Security. Merchants in both Grass Valley and San José mentioned the importance of programming and security to maximize the benefits of pedestrianization. Courthouse and Railroad Square already have significant programming, but these should be expanded. City and County police and social workers will also need to be present to remove the inevitable disruptive/belligerent individuals struggling with psychological and/or substance use disorders from congregating in the space.
Cities across the U.S. are pedestrianizing downtown spaces to create cool spaces for people to spend time and money and make memories. Santa Rosa should put itself and its downtown businessness on the map by becoming the first major Northern California city to go all-in on pedestrianization.