View from the curb

Dear Editor:For Eric Pierce: We know you love Trader Joe's. Get over it! ("Give It a Try," 1/20/11) If the founders of Trader Joe's thought that they could be successful in Downey, they would have opened a store here many years ago. After all, they proved their business concept in a little store called Pronto Market located in Meralta Square back in the 1960s and 1970s but didn't think the demographics here were what they were looking for. It looks like their success elsewhere confirmed their earlier decision. For Moises Alonso and his concern over Firestone (and Stewart and Gray) traffic ("Firestone Traffic," 1/20/11): Perhaps it is finally time for the City Council to ban curbside parking on Firestone Boulevard from the east to west city limits? It doesn't make Downtown a more desirable place to create a traffic bottleneck there by having curbside parking (especially with all of the off-street parking lots that business owners have been paying for lo these many years) in just this short section, when the rest of Firestone is three lanes in each direction and moves along quite nicely. For Dee Dee Carrasco, and her concern for youth activity, especially skating ("Skating Rink," 1/20/11): For many years we had a fine rollerskating facility in Downey over on Woodruff just north of Imperial; but it closed many years ago. Perhaps an ice skating facility could make a go of it, though you have competing rinks in Paramount and Cerritos/Artesia. But this is not a decision for the City Council, but for independent business owners who will, or will not, risk their own funds if the business model is one that encourages risk and reward. Personally, if the Council is going to spend funds in the area of Florence and Studebaker, I would much prefer to see them repair the paving on Studebaker in front of the closed Cadillac dealership, paving which has been a world-class embarrassment for 25 years. -- Drew Kelley, Downey

********** Published: January 27, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 41