I recently visited Burbank, CA for a wedding, and was absolutely impressed with their revitalized old town. It was several walkable blocks of diverse restaurants, fun bars, pedestrian traffic, dessert options, trees lit up with white lights, a mall with superhero statues, and a vibe that was high energy which every age group, ethnicity and budget was able to enjoy. As I was walking, I kept thinking why doesn’t Tualatin have such a place?
On Facebook’s ‘The People of Tualatin’ page, there is another discussion brewing about the elusive revitalization of downtown Tualatin. This chronic discussion has been going on long before I moved to Tualatin in 1999, and I suspect it will be for decades to come. The city has engaged outside consultants (a frequent and expensive move that rarely nets any change), the help of UO architectural students, local input, yet we are no further along.
The most common sentiment is the wish for food carts. People voice frustration over having to travel to Willamette Garages in West Linn, Sherwood Pods and Corner 14 versus having local options in Tualatin.
Since the concept of revitalizing Tualatin’s downtown seems too tall an order, it makes great sense to pour energy and investment into adding food cart options. This might be a more tangible and realistic goal to add the vibrancy, food options, and retention of Tualatin dollars to remain in Tualatin versus driving all over town to find this popular venue.
I used to be opposed to the concept of food carts, mainly because I was a brick-and-mortar protectionist. I feared food carts would compromise local restaurants, who actually invest in Tualatin by hiring employees, paying rent, supporting local venues like little league teams, schools, veteran’s causes, etc., but I now concede that it is time. French philosopher Voltaire’s philosophy of ‘Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of good’ fits here, as we need to do something, and waiting for a perfect solution seems a bridge too far.
If we can retain the dollars local people spend in other cities food cart options by having our own, this is good for Tualatin, as well as convenient for residents. Tualatin has grown by leaps and bounds commercially (Lam Research is an easy example) and residentially (Just Lennar Homes has built hundreds in the last 5 years) but still has very few food choices other than fast food. If the people want food carts, why not offer food carts? It’s time to stop talking and start breaking ground.
I hope local people take their thoughts further than sporadic posts on Facebook. If you want food carts, engaging with City Council to make these desires known would do more to effect change.
