Downtown Santa Monica Inc. will host a virtual Town Hall meeting at the end of the month to debate the future aesthetics of Lincoln Blvd.
DTSM will host the Lincoln Blvd. Beautification Project Town Hall Forum on Aug. 31 from 5 - 7 p.m. via zoom with consultants and DTSM staff to discuss an overview of a draft plan and seek feedback before design documents are finalized.
The DTSM project is separate from the existing The Lincoln Neighborhood Corridor Plan (The “LiNC”) project in scope and location. The City’s LiNC project covers a section of the road South of the freeway and includes a $5.5M investment in Lincoln with new medians and crosswalks, lighting and landscaping.
The Downtown project runs from Wilshire to Olympic and will try to create an inclusive, walkable corridor that serves as a gateway to the Downtown area.
Given the influx of apartments along Lincoln, part of the DTSM effort will be to reframe the street from auto-centric to pedestrian-friendly while promoting a diverse array of businesses. Part of the concept is to distinguish the Boulevard with new pedestrian infrastructure that references the area’s history (such as connections to Route 66) that creates a more public realm along that stretch of road.
“The Lincoln Blvd. Streetscape Beautification Plan is an effort by DTSM and the Lincoln Blvd. property owners to direct short, mid and long-term visual improvements to the streetscape. A portion of property assessments collected along the street each year are held in a restricted fund for future use in implementing the adopted plan,” said DTSM Deputy Chief Executive Steven Welliver.
Welliver said unlike a parallel effort to revitalize the Promenade, the Lincoln plan won’t require rezoning of the area.
“Unlike the Promenade Vitality Plan, the Lincoln plan does not include regulatory / zoning recommendations. It focuses on visual improvements to the public right of way and, in certain key areas, improvements to the facades of buildings unlikely to redevelop in the foreseeable future. The zoning adopted under the Downtown Community Plan will remain in effect,” he said.
Draft concepts for the area feature ideas like sandblasted art into the sidewalk, new murals by local artists, movable furniture/planters, new banners for street lights, trees and wraps for utility boxes.
Visit https://bit.ly/LincolnDTSM to register for the event.
editor@smdp.com
