Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - AntiochPress_10.10.08 - Index

OCTOBER 10, 2008 COMMUNITY BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 25A
Source: City of Antioch
If a ferry terminal is located at the end of L Street, the parking spaces in that
area will be fi lled early in the morning and all day long.
Parking from page 1A
that West’s report might be overstating the
parking availability due to the remoteness of
some of the spaces.
“Your report does indicate that while
spaces are available, sometimes they are
blocks and blocks away,” said Freitas. “I just
can’t imagine people are going to do that,
particularly if it’s raining or very cold and
wet and wild out there. That concerned me
a great deal.”
Freitas discussed the proposed ferry terminal
as a mixed blessing for Antioch.
“I would love to have ferry service,” he
said. “I think it would be wonderful and
certainly a catalyst for economic development,
commercial/retail development. But
my concern has been that if it is sited in the
downtown area, you’re going to lock up the
downtown area immediately.
“And we are going to have screaming
merchants in this chamber telling us that we
need to do something. And while I saw that
there are ‘available spaces,’ I doubt that most
of these people will park far away and walk.
The idea is for them to choose a different
alternative to transportation and get off of
Highway 4.”
Freitas said the city should start trying
to fi nd fi nancing for a downtown parking
garage.
Councilman Jim Davis asked about the
possibility of switching to diagonal parking,
which provides more spaces. He was informed
that the streets are not wide enough to accommodate
diagonal parking with two-way traffi
c, but it could be done with one-way traffi c.
“Twenty years ago we had some streets
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that were one way and had diagonal parking,”
said Davis. “It’s something to look at before
going down the road to a parking garage.”
Councilman Reggie Moore is concerned
about installing parking meters and increasing
parking enforcement. “I don’t want to
encourage writing citations and turn people
off to the downtown,” he said. “My sense is
that it will cost more to enforce than it would
be to have the meters there.”
Devi Lanphere, the CEO and president
of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce,
advised against asking business owners and
employees to park far from their businesses.
“We need to understand that it’s easy
to tell the merchants that they should park
at a distance, when they are concerned and
scared when they are the only person in their
business and have to walk a couple of blocks
in the dark in winter – it’s a big issue,” said
Lanphere.
She also cautioned that the city needs to
ensure that ferry riders aren’t forced to park
too far from the terminal. “No one is going
to park that far away when they are late to
the ferry and need to get on before it takes
off,” she said. “We are going to have to be innovative
with those solutions.”
Freitas asked staff to provide an update
on the parking plan in three to six months.
“Unless we have the necessary parking
for people, it’s always going to be a challenge,”
said Freitas. “People want the convenience.
Parking has always been an issue in
the downtown area since I was a child. I just
think that we need to have more discussion
and direction on where we are at and would
like to go.”
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Source: Antioch Unified School District
Only 44 percent of Antioch students are profi cient in English.
Blueprint from page 1A
But not all of our students. Until our students
are achieving, we have plenty of work
to do.”
The Blueprint lists numerous indicators
of success, such as more students graduating
and going on to college, increased employee
retention, more parents becoming involved in
school activities, and administrators ensuring
that schools are safe.
Several academic reforms are outlined,
including requiring that all 10th-graders take
the PSAT exam, revamping what is taught in
sixth and ninth grades, increasing the graduation
requirements and providing more “small
learning communities” such as Dozier-Libbey
Medical High School to prepare students for
college and careers.
Sims noted that Bill Gates had provided
funding to school districts to provide more intimate
learning environments but was disappointed
at the results.
“Too many districts created a smaller
school but didn’t address what took place in
that school,” said Sims. “We are committed to
make sure that any small learning community
is focused on the outcomes that we expected at
the end of 12th grade, including four years of
math and science.”
Other proposed changes include mentoring
programs, more counseling, more help
for underperforming schools, language immersion
programs and ensuring that quality
education is provided throughout the district’s
schools.
“What this is about is making all of our
schools great,” said Sims, “so that parents are
not opting out to other districts, but are opt-
ing back in.”
The school board members complimented
Sims on the work that went into the
Blueprint, while acknowledging that progress
has been frustratingly slow thus far. Gary
Agopian is particularly interested in providing
more choices for students and parents.
“We need to change how we are doing
business in the education business in the 21st
century,” he said. “I’ve had parents tell me
with students at Dozier-Libbey and Delta
Performing Arts Academy that this has saved
their children, because they were heading
in one direction and are now heading in another.
Are we moving into a situation where
we provide increasing choice for students and
parents?”
Sims responded, “We will never have the
resources to create Dozier-Libbeys all over
the city. Our fi rst goal has to be making every
school great. But every school can be challenged
to create different pathways and magnets.”
Board President Walter Ruehlig noted
that there has been much progress in the last
two years. He cited the co-principals at Deer
Valley High, the implementation of student
uniforms at 11 schools, closed high school
campuses that have increased safety and reduced
truancy, a second charter school, Dozier-Libbey
and Delta Academy and a new K-8
school.
“What about academics?” he asked.
“The dropout rate is still far too alarming.
Every year we expect results. I think this is
going to be a very good year for academics
and interventions with kids having behavioral
issues.”