CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake and several local agencies kicked off the first of several community events for the improvement of the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor with a walking assessment of the project area on Tuesday, followed by an open studio Wednesday evening.
The Tuesday walking event, followed by a workshop at city hall, had participation from nearly 40 members of the public who met at Highlands Park and, after donning bright orange vests, divided into two groups.
Walking along Lakeshore Drive, and guided by staff from the Local Government Commission and Opticos Design Inc., participants provided feedback, and questions were answered as key areas and issues were pointed out.
Some of the issues included improving parking, placement of sidewalks, bus stops, and bike and travel lanes.
Staff placed emphasis on short-term as well as long-term solutions, including not acquiring properties for road improvements if possible. That matter came up because not all of Lakeshore Drive has the 40 to 60 feet of right-of-way that it technically should.
Back-in parking was a suggested design for some areas of Lakeshore Drive. Safely providing a way for cars to back in and out and avoid hitting bicyclists or pedestrians, as well as other cars, was a reason offered for considering this type of parking feature.
A blind corner by Mullen Avenue and Lakeshore Drive brought up a need for safety mirrors or having high visibility crosswalks; such crosswalks measure 18 inches wide, and are 4 to 8 feet long. They provide not only more road visibility for drivers, but in turn make pedestrians more visible to drivers as well.
Some attendees discussed the need to improve bus stops. Suggested improvements would allow the elderly and those who are less mobile to sit instead of stand, while waiting for buses.
Staff stated that bus stops would be worked into the designs, and small bus stops such as those in Lake Tahoe – particularly the Kings Beach area – were being used as preliminary examples.
Regarding the beautification of the street, John Miki from Opticos Design Inc. mentioned a façade improvement program.
Miki said the program would provide tax breaks to merchants to improve their frontage on Lakeshore Drive. The program could provide up to $5,000 in improvements and could be a cost saving option for business owners.
Another alternative funding option for Lakeshore Drive improvements are government-funded rain gardens, where the collection of stormwater would help the City provide more greening of the area.
Both the façade improvement program and the rain gardens would allow the city to pave the streets on a smaller scale, therefore resulting in less out-of-pocket expense for both merchants and the city.
Another proposal offered during the meeting was creating a tourist attraction for Lakeshore Drive by converting the residence next to Highlands Park into a visitor center. The Clearlake City Council recently approved an agreement with the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce to do just that, as Lake County News has reported.
Development of the center and opening the park to kayak rentals, bocce ball courts and weddings were offered as ways to draw tourists to downtown Clearlake.
On Wednesday evening, the public was invited to an open studio at an office across from Highlands Park. There, they were able to see and share ideas about designs that were already in progress.
Miki led the group in discussing existing elements of the Clearlake General Plan that could use some fine tuning.
One example was parking; the current requirement for parking is too high and takes away from making several improvements.
Lakeshore Drive, with its three waterfront parks, can attract the pedestrian traffic, coming in via boats or kayaks. Miki spoke of encouraging the use of floating docks, where people could cross Clear Lake and spend extra money in town.
The Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor is about two miles long. The public was asked to think of nodes, or key areas, to consider for focuses on the downtown's center.
Staff suggested that the city work with resources that it currently has now, focus on stormwater treatment and offset costs by grants.
The staff also showed sketches of proposed roundabouts on Olympic Drive and Lakeshore Drive, as well as one by Old Highway 53 and Lakeshore Drive, by the old Shell gas station.
To allow large trucks to make the turns, proposed roundabouts would measure about 110 feet in a circle diameter. These could be built without taking out buildings in the long term.
Safety also was discussed, especially the dangerous area by Mullen Avenue and Lakeshore Drive. Staff proposed not allowing left turns from Mullen onto the busy intersection.
Josh Meyer, director of Community Planning Programs for Local Government Commission, stated that there were 285 crashes in the city of Clearlake in the last five years, according to studies. Two were at Mullen.
Miki suggested that the city work on reorganizing parking lots down the road, and hire an architect and landscape architect to help implement proposed features on the Lakeshore Drive corridor.
The three parks were each focused on for their benefits and possibilities. With fishing piers and marinas, the parks have tremendous room for development.
Other cities close a stretch of their main roads on certain days to allow walking and biking traffic. Businesses in those cities have noticed substantial increase with the pedestrians stopping by their stores during these road closures.
Some members of the public expressed concern over whether these proposals could actually happen.
Some had been on the first Planning Commission, and ideas of improving Lakeshore Drive had been discussed since the early 1980s.
Miki and his staff said they would leave a report with the city with “bite size pieces” – items that could be done now, in months, not years.
The report, to be presented Friday, will have short-, medium- and long term goals and how to help reach them. Phasing plans also would be part of helping Clearlake realize its goal of finally improving its vision of a feasible downtown corridor.
At its meeting Thursday evening, the Clearlake City Council is due to get an update from the corridor study’s design team.
On Friday, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, the design team will present the preliminary designs.
Afterward, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Clear Lake Chamber and the City of Clearlake will host a community reception – complete with food, wine and live music – at Austin Park, 14077 Lakeshore Drive, to celebrate the community’s efforts on the project.
The events this week were organized by the City of Clearlake, Lake County/City Area Planning Council and the Local Government Commission, with support from a California Department of Transportation Community-Based Transportation Planning Grant and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Email Nathalie V. Antus at
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