Transit Mall Opens With Bang

Story and photo
James Allardice
Mirror staff writer

   A “new day” of public transportation literally exploded onto the scene Saturday, June 22, as the City of Santa Monica and its Big Blue Bus staged a street party.
   The grand opening of Santa Monica’s Downtown Transit Mall on the Third Street Promenade was notable for pomp, circumstance and self-congratulatory hyperbole.
   Following a half-hour ceremony starring City and transportation dignitaries, the blue ribbon was officially cut, an explosion of confetti showered the officials on the stage, and the Transit Mall opened for business.
   “There is the old saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Mayor Michael Feinstein said. “Well, the Promenade wasn’t built in a day. Our community has put up with a lot in the past year and half, but I think the end result is something that will be here for future generations to enjoy. They will look back and say ‘those people were cool, they allowed this to happen and didn’t protest.’”
   The most noticeable feature of the Transit Mall is the bus-only lanes on Broadway and Santa Monica Boulevards. The City has also widened the sidewalks on those streets, added new bust “shelters” and arbors – or resting areas. The City hopes the wider sidewalks will attract local restaurants to the downtown area and foster more patio dining.
   Much effort was put into creating an artistic theme for the new downtown area, meshing the Paris-style bus stops, Barcelona-style street lights and Pacific Rim-themed mosaic tiles.
   “Art has to be part of the infrastructure, art should be a part of the day-to-day life” Feinstein said. “This is just another example of how conscious and cool it is.”
   State Senator Sheila Kuehl, a Santa Monica resident, told the crowd, “This town is really interested in making it [transportation] work for people who live here and for those who come and visit. I think this town is a party and now people can get here by bus.”
   Saturday’s festivities were hardly limited to the brief ceremony. Four stages were set up: three on the Promenade and one on the Pier. Each stage was hosted by a radio station, and featured music and entertainment specific to that station’s theme. The day was capped with a concert on the Pier by Sixpence None the Richer.
   “We said we’d get it done on time and we did,” said Feinstein. “We said we’d stay on budget and we came in under budget.” The 18-month project had a $15 million budget.
   John Catoe, former director of the Big Blue Bus, said Santa Monica’s Transit Mall is a model for the nation. “The MTA will follow this example in building transit projects,” said Catoe, who is currently the deputy CEO of the MTA. “With the help of the federal government we will bring light rail to the Westside within the next decade.”
   Stephanie Negriff, the City’s interim director of transit services, told the crowd, “Our celebration today is to celebrate not just the completion of 18 months of construction, and dust and disruption, but to welcome a new day of transit for the City of Santa Monica. It brings together the City’s objectives for community, commerce and culture.”
   The City had predicted that 100,000 people would attend the street party, which would have been a real test of the Transit Mall, but, for better or worse, only a few hundred people were present for the ribbon cutting – which was more symbolic than real, as the oversize scissors failed to cut the ribbon, and the explosion of confetti left the officials in a great tangle – an omen, perhaps, of things to come.