Old Courthouse Square ought to be reunited.

We’ve said so before, and we firmly believe that Santa Rosa would benefit from restoring its historic downtown plaza.
Success has never seemed closer. After a multitude of studies stretching over two decades, work on the square could begin in six to nine months. When people gather for holiday festivities next year, Old Courthouse Square may yet again consist of one, rather than two squares.

But this project is starting to lose its curb appeal.

The goal is to make the square more attractive for businesses and for public gatherings, with economic benefits rippling across downtown. To accomplish that, vehicle traffic must be steered away from the square. But the plan presented to the City Council in November gives top priority to parking, trading hundreds of square feet of open space for asphalt. Ninety-one trees, including five heritage redwoods, would have to go. So would the fountain on the east side of Old Courthouse Square.
Santa Rosa Mayor John Sawyer said the changes gave him “heartburn.”

Pass the Alka-Seltzer, Mr. Mayor.

With four traffic lanes carved through the center, Old Courthouse Square is emblematic of downtown’s problem: It’s a place to get through on the way to somewhere else.

It will take more than a reunified square to make downtown a destination. But a central venue for concerts, farmers markets and other events would complement the restaurants, coffee houses and brew pubs already opening as Santa Rosa, like many U.S. cities, experiences the renewed popularity of urban living.

Momentum was building a decade ago when a city-sponsored architecture contest produced an ambitious plan with light sculptures and a waterfall. But the $17 million price tag put the project out of reach when the financial crisis hit in 2008.
The project languished until a group of downtown merchants and property owners came forward this year with a scaled-back plan that could be completed quickly, and at a cost of about $10 million. “Keep it flexible and simple,” engineer Richard Carlile told The Press Democrat Editorial Board in June. “That’s what we’re after.”

As Carlile described it, the first phase entailed removing traffic from the middle of the square while retaining the redwoods and widening sidewalks to accommodate outdoor dining and pedestrians. The plan featured one-way streets with diagonal parking on each side of the square. Additional features could be added in subsequent phases, he said.

A more detailed presentation in November, when the downtown group sought and received a commitment from the City Council, made clear how much open space would be traded for parking along the new streets, Exchange and Hinton Avenues, which are envisioned to be wide enough to allow passing. The result is a much smaller square, minus at least one fountain and nearly 100 trees. All to gain 47 parking places.
There may be, as one urban planner said, a perception that downtown Santa Rosa lacks parking. But, with 3,000 parking spaces in the city’s downtown garages and hundreds more along the streets, it’s a perception that ignores reality.
At the November council meeting, and again at the first workshop to gather public input on the project, many residents panned the idea of maximizing space for cars at the expense of space for people and events. A final plan is still in the works, and city officials and the architects should heed the words of former Mayor Scott Bartley: “No great city has ever been known for being great because of their ample parking.”