We need a Main Street Association in El Centro

For years, this newspaper has observed and chronicled the decline of Downtown El Centro with an air of detachment. That’s about to change. Downtown is our neighborhood, so we’ve decided to become a more persistent advocate for its revival.

That’s not to say no one else has ever had the same idea.

Only two years ago, the City Council, under then-Mayor Efrain Silva, unveiled its Vision 2050 Strategic Plan. This document foresaw El Centro as the future “Center of Progress” in Imperial Valley.

Several of the recommendations in that plan applied either generally or specifically to the downtown area. Chief among them was a recommendation to implement strategies found in a previous plan, Project SHAPE, a study on downtown released in 2007.

Project SHAPE, in turn, was influenced by at least a half dozen studies that preceded it, including an Urban Design Study for Downtown El Centro from 1978.

So, folks have been talking about this for a while. But we can’t help noticing there’s still a long way to go before our downtown is anybody’s idea of “bustling,” to borrow a word from Vision 2050. We’re thinking perhaps it’s a longer way to go than it should be by now.

Yes, there have been improvements. The $1.1 million worth of street lighting the city installed recently helps address public safety, as does the addition of an armed security guard at the Imperial Valley Transit Center bus transfer station.

Meanwhile, however, vagrancy remains rampant, trash piles up in the alleys, buildings remain in decay, and the graffitists continue making their marks.

We don’t have it all figured out, either. But we do have some ideas.

One of the suggestions we like best from Vision 2050 is the formation of a Main Street Association to organize and promote downtown interests.

It’s easy to blame city government, law enforcement, big box stores, Amazon.com or anything else for what’s holding back downtown, but if there’s a single biggest obstacle impairing progress, it’s the lack of a unifying voice within the business community itself.

A strong Main Street Association would be well-organized, with adequate funding, full-time management and dedicated board and committee leadership.

One of its tasks would be to develop a brand identity for Downtown El Centro and promote that identity in a well-coordinated marketing campaign.

A Main Street Association would also be concerned with the appearance and design of the downtown district. This would include preservation and renovation of buildings, property cleanup and maintenance, availability of public restrooms and other amenities and seasonal decorations.

Finally, the association would take charge of strengthening and diversifying downtown’s economic base. This would include targeting and actively recruiting businesses to fill voids in the economic mix, while also helping existing businesses to adapt and find niches within which they can be successful.

In short, a Main Street Association could give downtown merchants the clout they need to exert greater control over their destinies.

The California Main Street Program, part of the state Office of Historic Preservation, provides information on enhancing the economic, social and cultural environment of downtown.

The program doesn’t offer grants, but it does offer informational resources, vital communication and training programs. It’s only one of many resources available, but we think it may be a good place to start.

Across the country, downtown districts previously given up for dead have found new life as cultural and commercial focal points for their communities.

Over the coming weeks and months, we are going to be making downtown revitalization an editorial priority. We will be looking at the topic from multiple angles, including what’s working, what’s not and how other communities have approached similar problems.

We do not intend to trumpet simplistic solutions, nor do we think we can turn back the clock.

Downtown El Centro can never again be what it was 50 years ago, but it can be something much better than it is now. We want to do our part, but we don’t want to work alone. Everyone with an active interest in downtown El Centro has a stake in its resurgence.