Northern California Tour: Checking on Suisun City

For those readers who don’t live in Northern California and don’t follow the news from my part of the world, it has been a historically dry year for the northern half of the Golden State.  Depending on the metric used, it may be drier than any previous year in this century or the last.  (Next week, I’ll attend a meeting on the relationship between land use and drought.  I hope that much of the information is worth sharing.)

Once one adjusts to brown lawns, shorter showers, and higher produce prices, living in a drought can be rather pleasant.  Day after day of blue skies, no roof leaks, and no umbrella shopping.  It’s not the kind of weather that leads to cabin fever.

Nonetheless, I found myself antsy about a week back.  I’d been without a reason to go out and visit interesting communities since the fall.  The absence of on-the-ground ah-hah moments was wearing on me.  So I scheduled a family lunch at the far end of a daytrip, made an itinerary of good and bad urban spots between home and lunch, packed up my camera and notepad, and hit the road early in the morning.

I’ll share my observations and insights over the next few weeks.

The first stop on my Northern California tour was Suisun City, immediately south of and tucked against Fairfield.  I hadn’t visited the community in more than a year, but regretted every time I drove I-80 without stopping in.  This was a day when I would absolutely make time for one of my favorite evolving urbanist communities.

I’ve written about Suisun City several times previously, noting first my surprise at how much urban redevelopment had taken place in the small town and then my comfort in the community.

Both emotions resurfaced immediately upon my drive into town.  I can’t help smiling at the tidiness and sense of rightness that Suisun City exudes.  It’s not a perfect little town, but it’s on a good path, with newer and older residential neighborhoods within a short walk of an increasingly vibrant downtown and a stock of interesting, if under-utilized, downtown buildings that can be gradually put to better use as the community continues to mature.

 But there was something else that struck me this time.  It lurked beneath the other emotions, but was always there.  It was a shiver of fear that the community had begun to drift.

The signs on vacant downtown lots that advised of coming development had sun-faded since I last visited, with nary a piece of construction equipment in sight.

The vacant land on the east side of the channel, for which I though retail was essential for the walkability of the eastside housing, continued to lay fallow.

And when I took a short drive through the eastside, I came across a neighborhood where ill-maintained cars and inept home improvements were beginning to accumulate along a street that had been sparkling and new only a few years ago.

 What I saw wasn’t the beginning of an inevitable and fatal slide.  But it was a warning sign about the need to nurture urbanism.

The analogy that popped into my mind was that drivable suburbanism and walkable urbanism are both gardens.  Drivable suburbanism, with its gasoline pricing that doesn’t reflect all the real costs and its subsidized streets and parking, gets constant attention, watering, and fertilization.  It produces a crop that I find tasteless and bland, but the production is consistent and dependable.

On the other hand, walkable urbanism gets infrequent attention.  When the all the pieces fall into place, including good redevelopment laws and a city staff with a great vision, progress can be made quickly.  That’s what happened in Suisun City a decade ago.  But when that attention is withdrawn, nature begins to gather at the perimeter of the garden, ready to reclaim its former domain.

Right now, Suisun City seems a lovely fledgling garden, with hearty young fruit trees and raised beds filled with healthy vegetables, providing goodness to the community.  But the gardeners have been withdrawn and the garden is at risk.

The problem isn’t that urbanism needs excessive care.  Every garden needs a little tending and I suspect that walkable urbanism needs less than drivable suburbanism.  The problem is that we provide constant care to drivable suburbanism and only sporadic care to walkable urbanism, a situation that is completely backwards.

I’ll continue to check in on Suisun City, hoping to see a little more garden-tending in future years.

For those who’ve remember my previous posts on urban dining, it should be obvious that I had breakfast at Bab’s Delta Diner, in the heart of the redeveloping west side.  The Delta Diner is a magnet to me.  As always, it provided a warm and welcoming atmosphere on the morning of my visit.  The staff was attentive and fun, perhaps responding to the felicitous environment of Suisun City.

Regarding the food, I was somewhat less impressed by my omelet this time than last.  The seasoning wasn’t as focused, leaving the flavors muddy, plus an extra slice of cheese on top dampened the character of the seafood.  But the option of fried rice in place of breakfast potatoes will save any breakfast.  Bab’s doesn’t serve exceptional fried rice, but it doesn’t need to be exceptional.  Even a competent fried rice is a fine complement to breakfast.

I expect that there are other good dining options in Suisun City and I should try them someday.  But for now, the Delta Diner is my place.  And I recommend that anyone wandering off I-80 into Suisun City make time for breakfast or lunch there, preferably with the fried rice.

For now, it’s onward with my Northern California tour.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)

Urban Eating: Seattle, Tacoma, and Suisun City

There are many different directions in which I could take this blog.  My only constraint is my perceived covenant with you, my readers.  And I figure that as long as I remain on topics that affect urban life, I’m within that covenant.  So, today I choose to talk about urban restaurants.

My definition of an urban restaurant is highly personal, but I think it’s reasonable.

First and most importantly, chains need not apply.  I’m willing to consider restaurants with two or three locations.  An owner with a sound vision can operate a few nearby locations without defaulting to a corporate mindset.  But Applebee’s, no matter how well a franchise might physically adapt to an urban setting, will never be an “urban” restaurant.  An Applebee’s would be beholden to a vision from corporate headquarters in Kansas, not its urban location.

Second, the location must be walkable urban, meeting three criteria: little or no parking on the street side of the restaurant, good sidewalks or other pedestrian accommodations, and a location close to transit or within a short walking distance of homes.

Third, the restaurant must have character.  I don’t much care what kind of character, but it should be the kind of place that isn’t easily forgotten.

With those criteria in place, I have three places to share.  Two would require airfare for most readers, but one requires only a short detour when you’re next heading to Sacramento.

Voula’s Offshore Café is in a gritty, water-oriented industrial district of Seattle.  I-5 is on an overpass far overhead.  But at ground level, the key feature is the waterway connecting Portage Bay and Lake Union, part of the water landscape that defines Seattle.  Early development of hydroplanes happened in this neighborhood.  And, for many years, Pocock racing shells were made only a few feet away.

Today, marine businesses continue to be the primary employers.  And marine employees seem to be among Voula’s primary customers.  But an older residential neighborhood begins only a few blocks to the north.  And even closer is the Burke-Gilman Trail, a well-used bicycle-pedestrian trail, making Voula’s a convenient stop during weekend rides.

Voula is Greek and the hospitality reflects that heritage, but the menu is broader, including standard American diner fare and nods to the Pacific Northwest.  The salmon smoking in the parking lot reflects the latter.

The interior reflect Voula’s status as a neighborhood hangout, clean but not fussy.  Heavy, solid furnishings.  And a corner dedicated to the rowers who use Pocock shells.

The food matches the décor.  Nothing pretty, but well-prepared, simply-presented hearty fare.  My breakfast choice was the Greek Hobo, a scramble of eggs, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and Greek sausage, topped with feta cheese.

The sausage was marvelous, with a good texture, firm but not overly coarse, and light seasoning.  But what made the dish was the gentle touch with the eggs.  Only enough egg was used to bind the other ingredients together.  It wasn’t an egg dish.  It was a potato and sausage dish that held together well.  It was also a meal that I could have again and again.

I was also tempted by the Chinese pancake, which you can watch on the video clip on Voula’s webpage.  Maybe next time. 

My only regret is that I now know that Voula’s opened its doors in 1984, three years before I moved from Seattle.  And it’s on a street that I often drove back then.  Had I found it back in 1984, I might never have moved away.

I was in the Northwest escorting my mother on a baseball roadtrip.  She’s a season-ticket holder for the Sacramento River Cats.  Beginning six years ago, she and I have taken annual roadtrips with the ballclub, giving her a chance to see her team in visiting uniforms.  We’ve gone to Portland, Albuquerque, Memphis, Nashville, and elsewhere.

I mention this because a feature of the each trip has been a meal with the ballclub’s radio broadcaster, Johnny Doskow, who has become a friend.  Doskow has been broadcasting in the Pacific Coast League for nearly fifteen years, which has given him the opportunity to find the best restaurants throughout much of the country.  Mother’s in Portland, Gus’s Fried Chicken in Memphis, Pancake Pantry in Nashville.  All were Doskow’s recommendations and all were good food.

In Tacoma, his recommendation was Southern Kitchen, a restaurant about a mile uphill from downtown Tacoma and nicely settled within the older residential grid of the city.

Not surprisingly, the cuisine was southern.  Perhaps more surprisingly, it was good southern food despite being about as far from the South as one could be in the U.S. without venturing to Alaska or Hawaii.

At the server’s recommendation, I went with the chicken-fried steak.  It wasn’t a regular breakfast choice for me, but I’m glad that I took the advice.  Nicely crispy, with a well-made gravy, and paired with a couple of eggs that were exactly as requested.  The only weak note was the grits and that was my fault.  I think I should like grits so keep ordering them.  But I’ve yet to find grits appealing and should just go with the potatoes.

In addition to good recommendations, the server also brought life to the meal with attentive service and a good line of patter.  When I asked for the check, “Skitzo” offered a sorrowful look and explained that he was no longer allowed to handle cash “after that $2,000 went mysteriously missing.”  When I went to the register to pay, Skitzo was there to take my money, explaining that he was “just  messing” with me.

Overall, solid food in a comfortable, enjoyable setting.  Highly recommended.

Lastly, I’ve twice mentioned Bab’s Delta Diner in this blog.  But I hadn’t yet found the right opportunity to eat there.  Recently, I was finally able to drop by Suisun City while it was open.  It was worth the effort.

Architecturally, Bab’s Delta Diner is a bit of a puzzle.  The exterior shell is consistent with the downtown redevelopment, a competent structure that seems recently built and fits with the waterfront theme of the redevelopment.  But step through the door and it feels like a diner of fifty years ago.  I don’t mean that in a negative sense, only that the layout seems a bit random and the furnishings are worn in the right spots.  It feels comfortable in a well-worn shoe kind of way.

And the food is consistent with that feeling.  Nothing very fancy, just good solid diner fare.  I had Rod’s Special, corned beef hash topped with cheddar cheese and a pair of poached eggs.  Normally I’d worry that the cheddar cheese would overpower the hash, but it was a full-bodied flavorful hash that allowed the cheese to be an effective complement.  And the eggs were done perfectly.

I arrived late in the Delta Diner’s business day.  People were still coming in the door, but the place was gradually emptying as the 2:00pm closing time approached.  As a result, the diner was overstaffed, with the young waitstaff clustered near the register, slightly giddy with the approach of a Saturday evening.

The young man who waited on me, a white teenager with a buzz cut, was in an effusive mood, quickly dubbing me “Buddy” and waiting on me with an alacrity that verged on haste.  I had to catch the silverware before it slid off the counter.  When he called the middle-aged African-American man next to me “Brother”, I found it a bit close to the edge, but no one took offense.

While I ate, the Olympic 10,000 meters was playing on a television, although the race length wasn’t being shown on the screen.   It was interesting to watch the waitstaff try to figure out the length, given the elapsed race time and the number of laps being run.

After long consideration, one decided that it was 100 meters (huh?).  Another went with 6 miles (close but the Olympics went metric before any of them were born).  A third came up with 9,000 meters (not a traditional race length).  They finally settled on 10,000 meters, but only after the high school teachers in the diner were hanging their heads in shame.

It was fun to watch the youthful exuberance.  Some patrons might have found it a distraction, but I enjoyed remembering the days of my youth.  And it reminded me that a primary reason for urbanism is leaving a more sustainable world for the next generation.  Even if they think that it takes nearly thirty minutes to cover 100 meters.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)

Wayfinding in Suisun City and Ukiah

While engaging in some early summer wanderlust, I came across wayfinding signs in Suisun City and Ukiah.  Between the two, Suisun City was the clear winner.  And neither had the multiple and inconsistent wayfinding systems that detracted from the wayfinding system in Napa. 

Suisun City started with a great background color.  Blue is typically used for informational signs, such as the signs about services available at upcoming freeway exits, so the color immediately evokes a subconscious sense of helpfulness.  Blue also reflects the connection to the bay which is critical to Suisun City’s image.  The graphic further complements the blue, promising the experiences that the town intends to provide while also representing the most iconic architecture of Suisun City.

The directions provided aren’t elaborate, but to the point.  And they work for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

As in Napa, there are no directions to the nearby residential neighborhoods, but unlike Napa, Suisun City really doesn’t have neighborhoods about which to brag.  As an urbanist, I love the walkable urban neighborhoods of Suisun City and am thrilled by the architecture and how the newer homes blend well with the older homes.  But Suisun City lacks the historical architectural richness of Napa, so directing visitors to the neighborhoods wouldn’t be reasonable.  (That I must point out the difference between the two cities is a triumph for Suisun City when one considers its situation just a few years ago.)

I like the inclusion of the municipal incorporation date because it gives a sense of history.  But I also agree with putting the information in a small font because the current attractions of Suisun City have little to do with its history.

I didn’t try to determine the frequency of the Suisun City signs, but noted several during my amble and used them effectively.  The sign density and placement seemed fine.

Compared to Suisun City, the wayfinding in Ukiah is competent, but less effective.   I’m unsure how much less effective because I could only find this one sign.  I circled a couple of other blocks looking for a second one, but was unsuccessful.  Perhaps I was unlucky, but it’s more likely that Ukiah needs more signs.

The graphic is fine, but the white background doesn’t work as well as the blue in Suisun City.  And there is the question of the information that is included.  I don’t know the Ukiah golf course, but question why it would be the top entry on the list.  The sign was located on a side street next to the courthouse, a location in which it seemed unlikely that a golfer in need of directions would find it.

And then there is the obvious oddity on the sign, the listing of “Downtown” without a direction arrow.   My guess is that the sign originally had an arrow, but merchants who considered themselves to be downtown but were located in the opposite direction from the arrow complained and the arrow was removed.  However, the absence of an arrow risks sending another message.  “Yes, perhaps it doesn’t look like much, but this truly is downtown Ukiah.”

If your town is considering a new wayfinding system, I encourage you to look at Suisun City over Ukiah.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)

Place Review: Return to Suisun City

A few weeks ago, I reported on a visit to Suisun City.  The city had undergone broad redevelopment efforts and seemed to offer helpful insights about the redevelopment process.  The visit on which I reported had been cut short by inclement weather, so I promised to visit again.

Recently, the next opportunity arose.  My schedule was again constrained, so I couldn’t look around as much as I would have liked, but I was able to take a good amble through the Waterside District on the west side of the Suisun Slough.

(Last time I visited, the weather was cool, rainy, and windy.  This time, it was hot and windy.  The wind seems to be only constant in Suisun City.)

I remain impressed by the redevelopment efforts in Suisun City.   And I was particularly impressed by the incremental approach that the City had taken toward redevelopment.  Except for the Victorian Harbor residential development on the east side of Suisun Slough, the redevelopment improvements seemed to have all been relatively small in scale.

As a visitor unfamiliar with the pre-redevelopment town, I couldn’t even be sure where the redevelopment efforts had stopped and started.  An art deco movie theatre stood next to a historic mansion which stood next to a public plaza. My guess was that the theatre was refurbished, the mansion restored, and the plaza newly built, but I wasn’t sure.

Along the fringes of the downtown, the redevelopment merged seamlessly into the walkable urban residential neighborhoods.  And within the neighborhoods, newer homes, which seemed to date from the redevelopment era, stand cheek-by-jowl with older historical homes, daring observers to tell the difference.

Daniel Burnham (1846-1912), mastermind of the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition and founder of the City Beautiful movement, once said, “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.”  I appreciate his point.  However, the big plans of which he speaks should be long-term visions.  Actual implementation of urban redevelopment is better if taken in small steps, following Jane Jacobs’ concerns about “the cataclysmic flow of capital”.

Working in smaller steps, as Suisun City seems to have done, allows the next redevelopment efforts to be fine-tuned as the previous improvements are absorbed into the fabric of urban life.

Landscape architects have a rule about public improvements that functions as a corollary to Jacobs’ proscription against cataclysmic flows of capital.  Landscape architects know that the public will find ways to use a project that they hadn’t anticipated.  Therefore, many of the best landscape architects will insist on holding back a portion of the construction budget to facilitate what the public teaches them.  Sometimes, it’ll be the addition of a footpath where the public has been cutting through the shrubbery.  Sometimes adding a garbage can where the public has begun using a quiet nook for lunch.  But the crowd wisdom always finds something the designers overlooked.

Urban redevelopment and landscape architecture have a common need to watch how the public integrates a new site into their daily lives.  It’s a lesson that Suisun City seems to have learned well.  While having a Burnham vision, Suisun City has implemented small, incremental steps that were building toward that vision.  It’s too bad that their successes have been temporarily suspended by the dissolution of redevelopment.  More than any city I know, Suisun City deserves to continue toward their vision.

I don’t want to oversell Suisun City.  Please don’t book a week of vacation to sample the local urban delights.  There’s not that much to see.  But if you want to spend a day looking about, enjoying the dining options in the Waterfront District, and chatting with the locals about the changes that have come to their community, I recommend it highly.  I know I’ll be visiting again.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)

Place Review: Suisun City

Several years ago, the Urban Land Institute and the American Planning Association held a joint Sacramento meeting.  The topic was the best uses of redevelopment in California.  (This was long before the dissolution of redevelopment.)  I was sitting near a Sacramento architect friend when the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency presented what they had already accomplished and where their vision was taking them.

I remember the architect and I looking at each other in puzzlement, amazed that a community barely an hour from where we sat had accomplished so much with so little public awareness.

After that wakeup call, I put Suisun City on my list of places to visit.  But despite my regular travel on Interstate 80 through Fairfield, I didn’t find the time to drive the few miles into Suisun City for far too long.  I finally changed that about two months ago.  The long-ago presentation was accurate.  Remarkable things have been happening in Suisun City.

There are other, more knowledgeable guides to Suisun City than me.  In addition to the ULI/APA presentation and some internet research, I had only about 45 minutes on a rainy afternoon to take a quick peak, often scurrying with my camera tucked inside my coat as rain showers came and went.   But I can offer my initial observations.  And I can elaborate as I find future opportunities to take a longer look under more clement conditions.

Historically, Suisun City was an industrial transportation hub, offering a convenient point of connection between the railroad and San Francisco Bay.  There was housing, but it was principally occupied by people employed in the industries around Suisun Channel.  As the industrial uses died, a ring of contaminated blight was left around the channel.  More housing came to town, but it came because the land was cheap, not because the community of Suisun City was compelling.

At one point, city government was housed in a set of mobile homes, leading a former mayor to opine, “We had the only city hall in California that was registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles." 

Having reached a low point, the community decided to transform.  Using a specific plan and the aggressive use of redevelopment, the changes were broad and striking.  A poorly conceived residential project on the east side of Suisun Channel was demolished.  In its place, the Victorian Harbor neighborhood was developed.  Across the street from Victorian Harbor, a real city hall was built along the channel shoreline.  At the north end of the channel, lodging and office projects were successfully completed.  Along the west side of the channel, an aging Main Street was revitalized with new municipal and commercial projects.    The contamination left behind by industry was cleaned up and Suisun Channel was converted to recreational use.

For my truncated tour, I began on the east side of the channel.  The new city hall is a fine architectural addition to the community.  The structure fits well with the waterfront character of the community.  And of course, it’s a major improvement from mobile homes.

The first look at Victorian Harbor reminded me of Harbor Town.  On closer observation, the architectural details and construction quality is better at Harbor Town, but the Victorian Harbor is well-configured.  If the housing market sustains the home values, it should be a neighborhood that will age well.

The north end of the channel was my biggest concern about the redevelopment.  The connection between the east and west sides of Suisun Channel  is defined by a large office building, a Hampton Inn, and a large parking lot.  It’s great that hotel and office developers were willing to take a chance on Suisun City.  However, the streetscape wasn’t compelling.  With most of the retail on the west side, I was concerned that the route wasn’t sufficiently friendly to people from the eastside who wanted to travel on foot or on bicycle.  If the streetscape isn’t interesting, the walkable urban concept is undermined.

I later realized that an alternative route exists for walkers and bicyclists along the waterfront, which reduces my concern.  However, the walking distance between Victorian Harbor on the east side and the heart of the retail district on the west side remains more than a half mile, which is beyond what many folks will walk.  I hope that the long term vision includes retail on the east side to encourage more car-free shopping.  Walkable eastside retail would also give children a stronger sense of connection to the community.

A passenger ferry or tram across Suisun Channel would also be a fun concept, but probably difficult to financially justify or to implement.

The westside of the channel is the most interesting new urbanist challenge, trying to integrate older retail with newer infill development.  The work done thus far looks intriguing, but the west side also shows the effect of the dissolution of redevelopment.  Several parcels are cleared and signed for pending construction with funds from the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency.  Those funds have now been indefinitely delayed.

Also, there are numerous westside restaurants garnering good reviews on Yelp, which is another reason to make more visits.

A report on Suisun City redevelopment can be found in this report by Terrain.org.   It’s written in planner wonkish, but offers some insights to how Suisun City began the transformation.  Then, this website provides regular updates about activities along the waterfront.  And of course I’ll be stopping by Suisun City again, beginning with a breakfast at Bab’s Delta Diner.  I’ll give updates from those future visits.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)