WALNUT CREEK
ENCOURAGING FOOT TRAFFIC
Walnut Creek has used several tools to make its downtown successful. In the “pedestrian retail zoning district,” curb bulb-outs slow traffic, some passages are pedestrian-only, and street trees and sidewalk tables encourage outdoor gathering.
A free trolley, subsidized by the city, carries people between the BART station and downtown, with frequent trips and extended hours. A city ordinance encourages shared parking by allowing private companies to lease parking lots when stores are closed and offer that parking for a fee to downtown patrons.
Community priorities drove the city’s new General Plan 2025. It emphasizes growing in a managed, deliberate way, focusing development around the BART station and downtown, improving key pedestrian and bike routes throughout the city, and protecting natural resources. Many residents participated in its creation.
Tackling Affordability
However, between 2000 and 2006, Walnut Creek issued permits for less than half its share of affordable housing. Two new tools will start to address this. A fee on new commercial development, adopted in 2005, will fund homes for workers. The city’s 2003 inclusionary
ordinance has already resulted in the
approval of 100 workforce housing units.
A housing trust fund has also funded
several fully affordable developments.
Walnut Creek’s downtown is a regional success story. Its challenge now is to ensure that residents of all incomes can share in the benefits.
A Retail Center Infill is not new to Walnut Creek. Located in Contra Costa County just east of the hills, the city is surrounded by 3,000 acres of permanently protected open space, concentrating development in the existing urban area. The downtown has been the city’s focus since its first general plan in 1961. In 1967, the city turned down the Sun Valley mall, built in Concord in 1967, to protect its traditional downtown and outdoor shopping mall, Broadway Plaza. Today, Walnut Creek’s vibrant downtown attracts residents and office workers as well as shoppers from neighboring cities. |
Public attitude has definitely changed. People understand that if
everyone lived in a single-family house, the freeways would be
jammed tight. People see that it makes more sense to build higher
and build denser near transit and downtown.”
– Valerie Barone, Community Development Director, Walnut Creek