October 13, 2008 Tracy, CA

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Gateway to Manteca Print E-mail
Written by Steve Hunger / For the Tracy Press   
Tuesday, 22 July 2008

A letter writer has some sarcastic things to say about the city.

 


EDITOR,

 

We’ve just spent $25,000 to be advised to “Think Inside the Triangle.” Interesting, eh? And I had hoped that in this, an election year, our city fathers would think outside the box.

Let me offer a little different slogan, and this one’s for free: “Welcome to Tracy, Gateway to Manteca.”

We’re still talking about a youth sports center, still talking about a college, still talking about bow-ties. In the meantime, Manteca has aggressively progressed: Big League Dreams, Bass Pro Shops, manufacturing, huge retail areas and plenty of eating establishments.

I attended a meeting several years ago to hear one of our council people (now holding a little higher office) say, “Well, Tracy’s always been a train town,” in support of the multi-modal thing we’re about to experience.

Trains are nice. They’re clean, quiet, safe, pretty to look at. I can’t wait. I’ll sit by the tracks and eat a sandwich while I watch ’em pass by, and suck in a little dust. With any luck, maybe the vibration will shake out a few old fillings.

It’s my understanding that Tracy was also a brothel and gambling Mecca. We gonna bring that back, too? It might give those folks on the way to Manteca a reason to stop.

— Steve Hunger, Tracy

 

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Comments (21)add
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written by what? , July 23, 2008
Steve,

The same council member is talking Trains and yet the key element of the train station is missing...TRAINS!
The fact of the matter is city hall has priced themselves out of the market place. It is all about numbers and a return on the dollar.
Why pay through the nose in Tracy when you are welcomed with incentives and open arms in Manteca! Business 101 - Serve your customer - city hall only serves itself!ity hall will soon Implode in the near future just from the numerical weight of its bloated payroll!

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written by what? , July 23, 2008
Manteca is thriving and healthy and Tracy is on a rapid and swift decline - Business is exiting!
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written by Justin281gt , July 23, 2008
If they opened a brothel and a casino, I'd never leave this town! smilies/grin.gif
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written by k.l.vosburg , July 23, 2008
There you are!
Referencing Outside the Triangle. What happened to "Thinking inside the Triangle?"

Wouldn't that be something between five and sven?
HYWY's 580,205,132,33,Byron Hywy and Hywy #4.
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written by fortheunderdog , July 23, 2008

Besides Bass Pro-Shops, Dick's Sporting Goods is also slated to be built in Manteca. While our city gov't was busy trying to find a catchy slogan for their triangle project big businesses slipped through their fingers. I am going to assume that the catchy slogan is going to be rewritten to "Think Outside of the Triangle".
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written by sb2482 , July 24, 2008
I agree with Mr. Unger. What is going on in Tracy when we are losing more businesses than we are bringing in? The mall has far too many empty spaces, Linens-N-Things is closing as is Fashion Bug. That will leave two large retail spaces empty. Who's going to go into those large spaces? If the city wants me to spend my money in town, give me something worth spending it on. Don't let strip mall and mall owners price out the businesses who do try to make it here, especially in the mall. What mall doesn't have a Hallmark store? Our mall even priced out a nationwide chain like Lane Bryant according to my neighbor who used to shop there. She cant buy fashionable clothes for work but hey, she can buy gangland stype T-shirts!!

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written by fortheunderdog , July 24, 2008
The shops in Manteca are only 10-15 mins away. I think driving a little for a greater variety of stores will just about put retail out-of-business in Tracy. But we'll still have our empty intermodal transit station on 6th St. smilies/tongue.gif
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written by SteveH , July 24, 2008
Tracy government seems to be about money. That's not always a bad thing – a solvent city is a healthy city, but greed is a very bad thing. We need to start thinking about spending a little to improve our quality of life here and not about how to suck more life out of the little guy. Haven’t we had enough people and opportunities walk away to learn that there’s a price point that’s intolerable? Is there no concept of “the big picture” or long-term goals? Lower the price, provide concessions, reduce the demands and let some of it happen. Quit chasing it away!

This is a commuter town, not a train town. We need to find ways to be commuter friendly. Sure trains are great for commuters, but ACE doesn’t control the track or the times trains can run. I’d love to take a train to the bay area occasionally, maybe take in Great America, but I don’t want to get there at 7a and have to stay until 5p. This ain’t BART. (Yes I do use BART occasionally.) People aren’t going to take the train here for the Bean Festival or Wine Strolls. Provide a little hope for a more practical schedule and I’ll support your multi-modal thing, but don’t do it just for the money.
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written by SteveH , July 24, 2008

We’re worried about “night life” in a community where people go to bed at 9:00 or earlier? Maybe on the weekends - but during the week? Someone seems a little out-of-touch. This is a community of families. After a hard day’s work, coming home to Tracy should be like coming home to a vacation. Maybe a nice walkway or bike trail along those railroad tracks. This has become a city of walls and cubicles; it makes it difficult to take a nice walk to the local strip mall. No keyed man-gates or paseos? Whose idea was that?

We should be able to BBQ in a park without having to pay for a permit. Sure, issue the permit so you know who, what, and where, but you don’t need to charge for it. Maybe take a credit card number or deposit if extra clean-up is needed, but families and/or groups should be welcomed to use the parks.

Establish ordinances and codes that discourage gang activity or make it uncomfortable. Enforce them. Noise, unlawful assembly, looking stupid, bad tats, unkempt yards, whatever. Did I say noise? Speaking of unkempt, how are things going on Eleventh Street?

My son (with a background in landscape architecture and urban planning) suggests, among many of the other ideas I mention here, upscale high-density housing similar to that off Tassajara Rd./Dublin in or near the bow-tie district to give downtown the population boost it needs. That might also support those trains if we ever get ‘em. Give the county the bowtie courthouse facility (free) and let the lawyers live close to their work.

Just a few thoughts!! Does anyone have the number for Del Webb? Maybe I should call the Manteca Chamber.

SteveH..............
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written by fortheunderdog , July 24, 2008

SteveH,

I'm recently retired but I'm not going to make Tracy my retirement community. I want a city where everything I'll need is nearby, like Roseville/Rocklin/Lincoln. Granted, those are now established retirement communities but those cities continue to build what is needed or wanted by the residents.

If I can't make it to that area I'm going to choose Sea Ranch. On the coast where there isn't anything to do, Santa Rosa is a 2 hr drive for shopping (and that's once a month), and the only thing that changes will be the grains of sand on the beach. Yep, I can see it now. Waking up early and taking walks along the beach with my wife and dog. Living at it's best and no bow tie or triangle.
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written by Mike D , July 24, 2008
Steve, you seem to be thinking right. Maybe a run for council, you’re talking more sense then the politicians.

I ride my bike or jog around town and you literally take you life in your hands just trying to get downtown. Speeders, red light violators, noise and lack of trails or bike lanes make this a very unfriendly town.

Things are so inconvenient or unpleasing around here its like someone is trying to get us to go to Pleasanton or elsewhere to shop and relax. Where's the plan?

This town lacks master planning. It’s more like management by issue around here. What’s the topic of the moment, the sports park, let’s run that way... now the multi-modal station, let’s run that way…Crime, Measure A, Affordable housing, city slogans.

The question our councils and managers should be how does this all fit together? Perhaps a sports park near the downtown and the train station, with bike lanes that all lead to the heart of the town. Then cultivate business downtown, Tassajera Style Housing, City sponsored events to draw people and safety for the citizens. Make it desirable and convenient to stay. Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin all seem to be getting it right.

Everything we do should support and compliment something else. Things should not be so stand alone around here. But that requires master planning.

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written by what? , July 24, 2008
Bravo!

Yes, time to have forward thinking and planning! Everything should connect. All of the elements the above posting needs to be a road map and included for future planning.

City Hall and the city council is the experts of Disconnect! They follow a dollar bill everytime...Planning is not part of the picture as far as customers and providing for the general public that is last on the agenda!


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written by momof3 , July 24, 2008
Also, in the new Manteca shopping center off 120, they are building a 3 story J.C. Penney's store. Let's see how long our Tracy store will remain open.
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written by k.l.vosburg , July 24, 2008
The mantra for Tracy has always centered around a bedroom community ideology, thus, never created any incentive for commercial devlopment or plans for any infrastructure besides 205 and Grant Line Road to support it.
The 10th St businesses at Central and 11th were supposed to invoke "old Tracy" and that's taken it's share of losses.
What's next to go...? Bed & Bath And Petco?
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written by fortheunderdog , July 24, 2008
Our city leaders are not thinking outside their box heads. They're much more interested in getting that transit station built to take the spotlight off of their poor planning abilities. If they do have plans to upgrade the downtown area they're going about it all wrong. They should have been focusing their attention on getting business into this city instead of messing around with "favored" contractors for so long and getting their heads out of the sand with this transit station. And let's not get me started on that $25,000 fiasco when they contracted for a snappy slogan. Mediocre, to say the least. Business should be booming along Grant Line west of Corral Hollow. Those empty lots across from West Valley Mall could have construction going on for future stores. That's where Tracy big name stores should be being built. Instead we're going to be left with a transit station, void of people, trains, taxis, and buses. I call it the Tracy Intermodal Transit Station, you figure out the acronym, and it's going to be a bust.
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written by ffmedc , July 24, 2008
Be afraid! Be very afraid!

Think about it. In order for businesses to succeed, you need shoppers. And not from just one community, but many neighboring communities! Think about Tracy and its "neighbors". To the South - Westley and Patterson? To the North - The Delta? To the West - Mountain House and Livermore? To the East - Manteca? Think about the mileage between these cities!!

Businesses in Tracy cannot succeed with only Tracy shoppers! Now look at what Manteca is doing. Building BestBuy, Costco, JC Penney among others! You think these companies plan on having two stores within 15 minutes of each other? Don't fool yourself! Guess where we are going to be shopping in 5 years!

It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. Big businesses are leaving, not flocking to Tracy. I hope I am wrong. But the writing is on the wall, and it does not look pretty!




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written by what? , July 25, 2008
The cow has left the barn!
The cause of the exodus is city hall. Tracy always priced themselves out of the market, still does. The leaders think Tracy is a premium city. They have only been fooling themselves.
Manteca is the place you want to be....
This has nothing to do do with Measure A. The blame falls square on the shoulders of council and city leaders who set, fees, and building red tape. Not to mention the city planners have no plans for any new roads or improvements for traffic in or around the retail areas. It is getting harder to drive inside Tracy. It is easier to hop on the new 205 with an extra lane and get to Lathrop or Manteca. 15 minutes...
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written by SteveH , July 25, 2008
Bedroom community. Did I mention noise?
This whole string is interesting. I wonder if anyone is reading it?
You don’t want me running for office. I’m too cynical, too practical, and way too honest. I also tend to call a spade a spade. Politicians at any level don’t tend to like that. I’m also a Cubs fan, so I’ve got that going against me as well. But I appreciate the notion.

The point is, we’ve got a narrow-minded stagnation situation, or at least the appearance of one, and are on the wrong end of a butt-kicking contest with our neighboring communitities. (Yeah, we're adding jobs, but where are the wages?) How do we fix this?

Did I mention noise??

SteveH………
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written by fortheunderdog , July 25, 2008

Tracy city leaders, you better take a look around and see the displeasure you've caused with the residents of this city. Your backroom deals have taken you away from what you should be doing most and that's getting businesses in this city. Get off your butts and pull your heads out. If you continue to let neighboring cities pull big business out from under you Tracy will be a city next to a freeway leading to other cities that offer more.

I still shop at a few Tracy businesses...Costco, Home Depot, Safeway, Save-Mart, ACE and OSH, Long's/Walgreen's only because it doesn't make sense to drive out of town to shop at these stores.

I still frequent restaurants in this city....Mandarin Villa and Casa Grande. For any other types of food I go out of town.

You guys better wake up and see what's going on around you because there's nothing going on in this city.
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written by k.l.vosburg , July 25, 2008
Tracy offered a giant "do-over". A "Gateway", executive-style living, ranchets, even low income housing.
It was all things, to all people.

Now, it seems to suffer from the same blight and crime normally considered centered around urban settings.
What happened?
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written by fortheunderdog , July 26, 2008
I can see the printing on the wall now. Driving eastbound on 205 passing Mt House there will be a freeway sign that reads:

"Surland Next 4 exits."

Then when you're passing MacArthur another sign that reads:

"Leaving Surland Thanks for Passing Thru"

Then yet another sign after that one reading:

"Manteca 10 Miles" followed by other roadside signs listing, gas, food, lodging, shopping, etc.

Yep, I can see it now.
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