City Council votes to reopen Downey Avenue

Photo by Eric Pierce

DOWNEY — The Downey City Council voted Tuesday to reopen Downey Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, after previously closing the roadway for the benefit of businesses struggling with COVID-19 health mandates.

The city had previously closed and blocked off street area to vehicular traffic as a response to the health order put in place by Los Angeles County Health Department on July 14, in hopes that the restaurants in the area would be able to maintain some form of business while prohibited from indoor operations.

Currently, three businesses - Bastard’s American Canteen, Lock and Key Social Drinkery, and Joseph’s Bar and Grill – are utilizing the space.

According to staff, a survey of businesses in the District @ Downey returned four replies, evenly split with four in approval of and four against the closure.

Specifically, businesses to the south of the district had concerns over parking and accessibility.

Staff offered three potential options, including keeping the street closed, reopening the street back to pre-COVID conditions, or reopening the street with the allowance of parklets.

District 5 council candidate Mario Trujillo – who owns property in the area – suggested that the street could be utilized during weekend evenings through the use of ballards, but otherwise should be left clear for residents.

“You cannot close Downey Avenue to the residents, it’s really unfair to them,” said Trujillo. “You have to remember the residents; that’s their street…”

“Those ballards, you shoot them up at 6:30 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays on special occasions; but you’ve got to let those residents go through.”

Trujillo also advocated for keeping things as they stand currently.

“The businesses were told that you were going to close for six months, so what I’m asking for is keep the status quo,” said Trujillo. “I’m disappointed in the neighbors to the south, the other businesses. Now is a time to be a good neighbor…these businesses are trying to thrive.”

Ultimately, council member decided to reopen the street, while still allowing businesses to operate within specified parklets.

Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Frometa said that “We only have a certain amount of space, and we have to work with that.”

“I think that our city will have to continue to navigate through this process in a very delicate way,” said Frometa. “If the pedestrian traffic is not what we anticipated when we initially looked at this, and the [pedestrian] traffic is coming the latter part of the evening, then I don’t see why we wouldn’t look at [reopening to traffic] and having standard parklets in place.”

The city will now run K-rails up the entirety of the street to separate vehicular traffic from dining spaces. Businesses will have three weeks to make the transition, with a 60-day evaluation period.

The item was approved 3-0, with Councilman Rick Rodriguez absent and Mayor Blanca Pacheco abstaining due to her office’s proximity.