It’s 15 minutes past high noon on Monday in downtown Manteca.

Ben Cantu — arguably a lifelong student of downtown on levels ranging from being an interested community resident, decades as a city planner, former elected official, and even an ill-fated time as a downtown business owner in the early 1990s — is standing near the corner of “the intersection” at Yosemite Avenue and Main Street.

He looks to the north, south, east and west then notes there is not a single pedestrian in sight on the sidewalks for two blocks in each direction.

Cantu’s focus shifts to the streets for two blocks each way.

There are easily 60 vehicles either moving or waiting to clear the intersection.

Five minutes later, the 60 or so vehicle count still holds.

On the sidewalks, there has been some activity.

*A woman went from her car into the Spin Cycle laundromat.

*There were two different homeless individuals that bicycled down the sidewalks.

*Just beyond the two block radius, there are a half zone or more Manteca High School students milling near the sidewalk order window of the Ironhorse Deli.

*A postal carrier was making his rounds.

*And there was elderly gentleman making his way down Yosemite Avenue.

The evidence, so to speak, is why Cantu after being involved in one way or another with at least a half dozen attempts over the past half century to change downtown’s direction says it is proof positive, as far as he’s concerned, that the city is about to waste $980,000 on a downtown specific plan.

And, he adds, the $1.2 million they are using to purchase the IOOF Hall to that amount.

Do not misunderstand Cantu.

He gets the need for a plan, but he sees it as a waste of time and money if the city doesn’t do two  things first.

Topping his list is creating foot traffic with a draw such as a new city hall not just with 300 to 400 daytime employees, but also those that go there to conduct business.

“There is no daytime foot traffic,” Cantu said.

He said that has been the case since the early 1990s when he owned and operated a downtown T-shirt and balloon shop in the 200 block of West Yosemite Avenue.

The biggest daily pedestrian traffic by far back then — and today — are students walking to and from Manteca High.

“You need weekday foot traffic,” Cantu said.

Cantu’s go to solution has always been building a new city hall downtown, specifically  in the large vacant lot where the Manteca Bean Company once stood as well on property where there is now a thrift store, ethnic market, and a Mexican restaurant northeast of the Moffat and Main intersection.

That said, he gets the new $92 million police station on South Main Street the city is breaking ground on this summer makes it highly unlikely Manteca can make a commitment to build  a new city hall downtown even if there was a will to do so in the next 15 years.

That’s because of the city’s limited ability to tackle a project that would rival the police station in cost.

It is why Cantu believes the city should proceed with the second endeavor on his must do punch list to change downtown’s direction, which is addressing traffic.

Lock in long range traffic

improvements first .  . .

There are two traffic issues that Cantu said the city needs to address  before creating a downtown plan — traffic going through downtown and traffic going to downtown.

The 900-pound gorilla by far is North Main.

It is the first traffic issue Cantu said needs to be addressed. He contends it needs to be five lanes — two thru lanes in each direction with a fifth lane for left hand turns. There would be no on-street parking.

Once that was done, he’d then convert Center Street into one-way westbound from Fremont to Union.

Yosemite Avenue would be one-way eastbound from Union to Fremont using couplets at each end.

That way Yosemite Avenue could be one-lane through downtown from the tracks to Fremont.

It could be made more pedestrian friendly by widening sidewalks and incorporating more robust outdoor spaces and uses.

Cantu said proposals to extend Moffat westward to tie in with Yosemite to create a two-way east-west traffic flow through Manteca for thru traffic would be significantly more expensive to build behind the north side of the 100 and 200 blocks on West Yosemite.

Barring a jumpstart investment such as a new city hall, Cantu sees one way streets as the best move to get downtown on the right path although it will take longer to do.

But without doing that first, whatever plan the city comes up with this time around will essentially be spinning the proverbial wheels from Cantu’s perspective.

Surviving not thriving

Without the elected council deciding to address traffic by making a unilateral decision on what to do and then telling the professionals to make it work, Cantu sees downtown continuing to do what it is doing now, which he says is “surviving not thriving.”

Underscoring his point was an hour he spent at the House of Mohka with a pastry and a coffee in the 100 block of North Main Street.

He was there prior to venturing out to stand on the corner to assess the purchase of a parking lot and IOOF Hall building that city leaders have described as a “bold move” and he dismisses as exceedingly risky.

There were four people in the coffee shop when he arrived.

Over the course of the next hour, 10 more filtered in with almost all coming through the back entrance where parking is available.

That is in stark contrast to downtown Pleasanton, Livermore, of Lodi where city sidewalks weekdays have pedestrian traffic.

In those three cities, there isn’t a major arterial going through their downtowns, let alone two, driving away foot traffic.

Cantu believes any plans to make downtown more walkable would essentially be dead on arrival unless the council steps up and decides once and for all what to do with traffic instead of hiring a traffic consultant  or even a downtown planner to tell them what to do.

It may seem like the same thing as a consultant advocating altering the east-west traffic flow, but looking back over the past 50 years Cantu says his take adds credence to  his point: The decision on how to address traffic in downtown needs to be made first by council displaying “backbone” and then having it implemented.

Says the city should not be in the

business of purchasing buildings

Does Cantu believe the city is making a mistake buying the IOOF Hall and adjoining parking lot for $1.2 million?

“Absolutely,” Cantu said. “The city should not be in the business of purchasing property downtown.”

Unless, Cantu added, it was to build a new city hall or for some of other city function that would create a pool of permanent customers.

Creating permanent customers is what the city wants to do by encouraging higher density housing opportunities on the fringe of downtown in the central district or new projects in downtown with retail/restaurants on the ground floor and housing on the upper floors.

“It’s the wrong mindset,” Cantu said of trying to create a partnership with the private sector to repurpose one building into a “gateway” attraction. “One new business isn’t going to do it.”

And if It doesn’t pan out, the city will have invested $1.2 million in tax dollars in a 110 year or so old building that needs extensive renovation and likely seismic retrofitting before being repurposed for uses as a restaurant.

He also sees the concept that Ascend — the consulting firm the council hired to fashion a comprehensive downtown plan — dangled in what to do with the corner parking lot as a prime example as how disconnected outside concerns are.

The concept the consultant advanced was tying in the city’s parking lot next to the Deaf Puppy Comedy Club and closing part of the alley to create a downtown community gathering place.

“With all this traffic and noise?” Cantu asked standing on the sidewalk separating North Main Street from the conceptual gathering place.

It should be noted the only thing the current council is committed to is turning the private parking lot into a public parking lot as an initial use.

Why listen to Cantu?

Cantu has been out of office for almost 3.5 years.

And while one does not have to be in an elected position to advocate and push for specific city actions, clearly the five people on the council are the ones that call the shots.

Cantu, 75, plans on running for the District 1 council seat in 2028.

The current incumbent, Charlie Halford, has indicated he isn’t seeking a third term.

Keeping in mind the voters residing within the district elect the council members from someone who resides with the district boundaries, as it stands now Cantu is the only one with a high profile name that has indicated they are running.

Jacob Naven, who is running against Gary Singh for mayor in November, also resides within the district.

If Naven loses, that would leave him with a high profile.

But Cantu, who has endorsed Naven for mayor, is confident Naven isn’t going to lose.

That would mean if Cantu runs and wins, it could lead to two votes on the council that may want to alter the city’s current direction when it comes to downtown.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabullerin.com