A walker’s paradise

Bryce Alderton

A Main Street without cars? Don’t laugh, it could happen.

On Monday, the City Council voted 7 to 0 to begin what likely will be

a long debate about closing the crowded strip of road -- long known as a

parkers’s nightmare -- to traffic.

“I want to create a downtown area that’s fun place to be, where it’s

open-air and pedestrian-friendly,” said Mayor Pam Julien Houchen said.

Julien Houchen, along with council members Dave Garofalo and Shirley

Dettloff, are all part of a city committee that came up with the

recommendation.

“One of the suggestions we’ll be looking at is making the Downtown

area more pedestrian-oriented so they can access the restaurants and

businesses,” Dettloff said.

Dettloff also said the council will have to figure out how to replace

any parking spaces that would be removed under the plan.

“[The council] needs further information from Caltrans and Downtown

businesses in how to replace any parking that is lost,” Dettloff said.

The idea got a largely welcoming response from workers and strollers

along Main Street this week.

Anthony Boghokian, manager of Jack’s Surfboards, said that business

wouldn’t be affected by the possible closing, and he does want to make it

easier for pedestrians to get around.

“I think [closing Main Street] is a good idea because it would make it

a lot safer and easier to get around,” he said. “Right now it’s hard to

get around Main Street on weekends.”

Nancy Harrison, a Huntington Beach resident for 31 years, said she

walks through town every morning but closing Main Street to vehicles

would be sacrificing convenience.

“Parking is convenient if you have to whip in to one of these

businesses and buy a shirt to send to someone back East or if you come

for breakfast like I do sometimes,” Harrison said. “There are two sides

to the issue and I would hate to be a part of anything that would put the

merchants out of business.”

Marty Hernandez, who wore a bike helmet and leaned against his bike as

he sipped his cup of Starbuck’s coffee Wednesday, said the idea made

sense for people who bike.

Hernandez, 42, has lived in Huntington Beach for five years and likes

to ride his bike along the beach.

“This is the best place to ride in the world,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said closing Main Street to vehicles “would be nice because

the city could stage more street festivals, while helping the businesses.

Right now, it’s hard for the stores to get business when drivers are

having a hard time finding parking on the street.”

Tony Zazula, the manager of the Main Street Starbuck’s, said closing

the street off could hurt morning business but might help bring people to

the area throughout the rest of the day.

“[The closing] would affect different parts of the day,” he said as he

worked feverishly behind the counter blending drinks for the morning

rush. “It might hurt business in the mornings because the store is

accessible for people going to work, but it would help us during midday

and at night because more people from other areas of the city would come

down and spend money at the businesses and we wouldn’t have problems with

loitering.”

The weekends are a busy time for Zazula who said he might see 100 bike

riders a day coming in. He also said the closing would be beneficial

during the off-season winter months when business is slow.

“It would give people the opportunity to still come down and enjoy

this place,” he said. “You won’t just get people coming down and going to

the beach, but also people walking, or riding bikes Downtown and stopping

in these businesses.”

The city’s director of communications, Rich Barnard, said no decision

has been made on how much of Main Street would be closed or whether it

would be permanent or just for certain times of the year.