Boarded-up buildings, discount dollar stores and wilted shrubbery line downtown's C Street. The jail turns its ugly backside to the scene, and the Westgate Hotel keeps its curtains closed.
NANCEE E. LEWIS / Union-Tribune
A homeless man fished through trash on C Street as trolley riders boarded yesterday afternoon. The corridor is one of downtown's most crime-ridden areas, and officials are working on a revitalization plan.
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The smell of pizza and urine frequently intermingle. Trollies scatter pigeons, which quickly land again to peck at trash. People carrying garbage bags full of belongings mutter to themselves.
San Diego Councilman Kevin Faulconer and others envision a better C Street: one animated by families and laughter, outdoor dining and inviting shops.
“We want to make it more alive and vibrant,” Faulconer said.
He and other downtown leaders have been meeting to come up with an improvement plan for the stretch of C Street that runs from India Street to Park Boulevard. They want to make the road with the trolley tracks safer, prettier, more friendly for pedestrians and easier for drivers to navigate.
They expect to finish a master plan for the area by January and make the improvements within the next decade. The public is invited to share thoughts at a 5:30 p.m. meeting tomorrow at the Westgate Hotel.
Even though City Hall sits on the street, the corridor is one of downtown's more crime-ridden areas.
The crimes tend to be drug buys gone bad rather than attacks on passers-by, said John Graham, the downtown community service officer. Parolees often congregate there, he said. Drug deals are made because there aren't a lot of windows looking out onto the street.
“It's a hard area for us to work narcoticswise because there's not a lot of good places to watch the activity going on,” Graham said.
Criminal activity, though, has been declining. Cameras installed last year on the block between Fifth and Sixth avenues may have helped, as well as a focus on dealing with the crime and trash in the area. Some parolees also have been prohibited from hanging out there.
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Task force meeting
What: The C Street Task Force will gather public comments and discuss ways to improve C Street between India Street and Park Boulevard.
When: 5:30 to 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Where: Westgate Hotel's Versailles Room, 1055 Second Ave.
Who: The Centre City Development Corp., along with the San Diego Association of Governments and the Metropolitan Transit System.
Why: To develop a C Street master plan that will include trolley, transit and infrastructure investments; landscape improvements, including public art; a better road for vehicles and pedestrians; redevelopment opportunities; and public safety improvements.
How much: Initial estimates to revitalize C Street are $60 million to $70 million.
More information: Check out CCDC.com and click on the C Street master plan link or call (619) 235-2200.
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From 2002 to 2004, blocks on C Street were among the top 10 places Central Division officers were called for drug problems. Central Division encompasses west of Highway 15 and south of Upas Street. In 2005, C Street blocks dropped to the top 15.
This year, none of the blocks on C Street made the top 15 – but some people still don't feel comfortable there.
A resident of the Marina District, Gary Smith regularly takes the trolley along the corridor.
“We also walk here,” said Smith, president of the San Diego Downtown Residents Group. “But if you do the walk from the train depot to City Hall, you will see how grim and foreboding it is. There are hotels with nothing there because no one wants to rent. . . . The back of the (jail), yuck, and then on the far end of C Street (by Park Boulevard), it's even worse.”
Carol Beres, who bought a building at Fourth Avenue and C Street in the 1970s, has watched crime go up and down. Before the trolley began running in the 1980s, it was a “great street” that felt safe, she said.
The trolly “brought in the wrong element,” Beres said.
Along with the trolley came low walls to keep people from walking onto the tracks. Homeless people took to sleeping by the walls. Beres said she started seeing drugs changing hands on the street. Businesses closed and owners nailed boards over their windows.
Beres envisions C Street being a place like Little Italy, with an eclectic mix of restaurants, specialty stores and housing.
“I would like to see more sidewalk cafes and mixed use, dry cleaners, boutique grocery stores, varied building styles and a street that is walkable, safe, inviting and comfortable,” she said.
To Faulconer's mind, Beres is a pioneer toward that end. Among her tenants is the Downtown Fish Joint, which has sidewalk seating on C Street. He goes there often for the fish sandwiches, he said.
After the weekday lunch rush, though, homeless people sometimes park shopping carts and rest on the outdoor chairs at a nearby cafe.
“The city has missed a real opportunity on C Street,” Faulconer said. “It's the spine of downtown, but it's underutilized.
“Over time, we've seen other areas of downtown really flourish, from the the Gaslamp to Little Italy to the Marina to Horton Plaza, but no one has taken a comprehensive look at C Street.”
Not everyone takes umbrage with C Street's pockets of sleepy seediness. Danny Rosco, who shines shoes across from City Hall near C and Second Avenue, said he moved to the spot five years ago after getting tired of the bustle on Broadway. While he doesn't get as many customers, he has more time to read his Bible, he said.
“In this section, everything's pretty calm and quiet,” Rosco said. “I like it this way.”
Dani Dodge: (760) 476-8242; dani.dodge@uniontrib.com
