The city of Coos Bay is looking into what needs to be done to convert Central Avenue, between Broadway and Fourth Street, from one-way to two-way traffic. It would mean, at a minimum, reconstructing sidewalks and streetlights on the three-block area. World Photo by Lou Sennick

COOS BAY — Coos Bay’s two urban districts received mixed reviews in an assessment presented to the city’s Urban Renewal Agency last week.

A majority of residents surveyed earlier this month think downtown Coos Bay and Empire are becoming more inviting to business and visitors. But, the same group said the areas don’t measure up to similar-sized business districts elsewhere in the state.

Vicki Dugger, who assessed the city, inundated the agency with assurances that Empire and downtown Coos Bay are “full of potential,” “ready to take off” and “right at the tipping point.”

And whereas previous studies have left questions as to what to do next, Dugger went right to the crux of the issue. She offered solutions to revitalize the area.

Make Central Avenue into a two-way street.

Rewrite building codes to prohibit electronic reader boards, chain-link fences and blank, windowless walls in downtown areas.

Place a moratorium on the use of ground-floor, downtown spaces by offices, churches and fraternal groups.

Concentrate on “very aggressive business development.”

Dugger also recommended parking changes, bolstering crime prevention tactics in Empire and making it easier for business owners to learn about city services, like the agency’s facade grant program (see sidebar).

The agency hasn’t approved any changes yet, as it waits for a comprehensive action plan, to be completed later this fall. But agency members appeared interested in the ideas, especially the suggestion of expanding Central Avenue. Some even talked about making Anderson Avenue two-way from U.S. Highway 101 to Fourth Street.

“I really like the idea of Central,” said Mayor Jeff McKeown. “Maybe we will try it one step at a time and look at Anderson later.”

The city hired the Oregon Downtown Development Association, for which Dugger is executive director, to do the study for $15,000. Dugger spent much of her week here visiting with store owners. She reviewed previous studies and hit the pavement to get a sense of the area’s pedestrian and traffic flow.

She came to the agency meeting with a slide show featuring images comparing well-designed cityscapes and those that aren’t passing muster in Coos Bay. She noted that new buildings should be constructed right on top of sidewalks, rather than having parking lots in front, because that’s more pedestrian-friendly. She also recommended the ground-floor moratorium on offices because those spaces would be better served as retail outfits.

She warned that enforcing such a moratorium would mean the city’s efforts to recruit new businesses would be paramount, because empty storefronts already are a problem.

Looking at Empire, Dugger said businesses should look at the model presented by Empire Café.

“Kudos to Edna [Ryzebol] at Empire Café,” she said. “She is a pioneering businesswoman. She is going to help make it happen.”

But Dugger also said crime is a real problem in the area, noting police indicated 50 percent of their calls come from Empire. Dugger suggested a neighborhood watch might be the answer.

“I think the time is right,” she said.

Finally, Dugger offered suggestions about parking and traffic improvement. She said business owners should tell their employees not to park in spaces along main thoroughfares. Each space, she suggested, brings about $25,000 a year to businesses. Without parking, many shoppers won’t stop.

“That’s a lot of money that could be escaping,” she said. “If I’m from out of town, I’m looking for on-street parking.”

She also offered a clear solution to expanding Central Avenue to make it a two-way street. Currently, the 60-foot right-of-way has two 12-foot sidewalks, two eight-foot parking corridors and a 20-foot driving lane. By narrowing the sidewalks to 10-feet each, she said, the 20-foot driving lane could be expanded to 24-feet and divided in two.

“You’ve got the space,” she said. “You need to look at it.”

Joanie Johnson, owner of Sincerely Yours Antiques, requested that the agency also consider removing a parking space from each row of the downtown parking lot. The extra space could then be used to widen each parking place.

“If you want to keep employees from parking on the street, you don’t want to have them worried about car damage (from parking in narrow spaces),” she said.