How is Laurel Street closure doing in San Carlos?

Since then, Laurel Street has hosted farmers’ markets and outdoor dining spaces to make the block more accessible to pedestrians.

“The city of San Carlos is thrilled with the level of community enthusiasm for the plans to improve and reimagine our beloved downtown,” Mayor Sara McDowell said. “From the first closing of the 700 block of Laurel Street to pedestrian-only access to the recent endorsement of new street designs in September 2023, the San Carlos community has been engaged and instrumental in this process, and the overwhelming reaction to the project has been both optimistic and encouraging.”

After more than a year, the change has received mixed reviews with some business owners, in particular, have opposing views.

“We asked the city to reopen the street after the closure,” said Monica Pilotzi, co-owner of Mama Coco on Laurel Street, adding that business has declined since the change. “We love the way it was before.”

Others working in the area acknowledge that business has slowed but don’t feel the closure is to blame.

“People wander more,” said Heather McDill, an employee at The Reading Bug, a bookstore, who felt the sales decline was due to recent economic struggles rather than the closure.

Other Reading Bug employees agreed, saying the pedestrian mall gives customers more time to explore other stores.

“It gives us more floor space, and we only lost three parking spots,” McDill said.

Still, some owners, such as Chris Davis, who owns The Kids Company on Laurel Street, said there is a lack of pedestrians walking down the street now. She suggested a more modest approach might benefit the city, such as night closures.

“Why would anyone come downtown if they can’t find a place to park?” she asked.

An owner of a bar on Laurel Street, who asked not to be named, called the changes “great.”

Friday nights and weekends appeared much more active than weekdays, but many owners felt the prepedestrian mall layout was better.

Kenal Kurt, owner of The Cask Wine Bar, said the changes hurt his business.

“We have seen a 50% reduction in customers,” Kurt said. “We want it to go back to the old way. We’re dying here.”

Customers also appear divided on the changes.

“I really like it. It’s easier to cross the street, and it doesn’t feel so cramped the way things are in [San Francisco],” Martha Vega said.

Other customers said the changes created accessibility challenges.

“It’s really hard to find parking here,” Belmont resident Leticia Carillo said.

“Before, it would have been easy, but now we have to drive around the block and look for parking. I prefer how it was before, to be completely honest.”

Still, McDowell stands by the changes.

“The city has worked hard to ensure all voices were heard throughout the Downtown Specific Plan process, including through online surveys to the community at large as well as to business owners specifically, dozens of in-person meetings, pop-up events in the downtown area and the creation of a Downtown Advisory Committee,” McDowell said.

The committee included 18 members, such as business and property owners.

“The committee met seven times to provide feedback to the city on the downtown plan, and at its final meeting in March 2024, the committee endorsed the streetscape design’s direction,” she said.

McDowell added that the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Additional changes are expected in 2025 as part of the Downtown Specific Plan and Streetscape Master Plan, which the city says may be adopted by March before implementation.

Proposed as “The ‘L,’” there is particular focus on flowing travel from the Caltrain station, through San Carlos Avenue, and onto the main Laurel Street strip. Promoting alternative modes of transit, the proposed street designs establish protected bike lanes throughout downtown. 

It also features wider sidewalks, enhanced outdoor dining areas and new greenery with tree-lined streets and rain gardens. It also includes public seating, event spaces, EV charging stations, and the improved connectivity to the Caltrain station will create a safer and more vibrant community, according to the city.

The city’s website says these changes aim to encourage customers to stay longer in the area as businesses continue to adjust to the post-COVID-19 era.