Editor, Manteca Bulletin

It’s been a while wince I wrote to comment on the blight in downtown Manteca. A number of years ago city leaders spent time and money taking trips to Pleasanton and Lodi to get ideas on how to improve our downtown. Obviously, they failed to come up with anything close to those lovely downtown areas. Maybe those trips were for pleasure?

In Pleasanton, people enjoy strolling Main Street, pausing to check out intriguing shops and stopping to have a good meal at a restaurant with both inside and outside seating. Downtown is clean and obviously well planned. City officials put their heads together and made it happen. You do not see garishly painted buildings, flapping storefront banners, tattoo parlors or cigarette stores.

So what changed in Manteca? New street lights were installed and they were an improvement. Then the bulb-outs were added. Unfortunately they are not always well maintained. Personally, strolling through our downtown is not an option, and that is a shame I place squarely at the feet of our city officials.

We have a Planning Commission, do we not? Are there rules and regulations? What is the big picture for Manteca’s downtown? Is this it? If so how embarrassing.

Status quo will remain if residents of Manteca do not speak up and let their thoughts be known. Is that what everyone wants?

Judy Brown

Manteca