The Christmas tree is now up at the fountain in Broadway Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek!
Walnut Creek Half Marathon & 5K:
Civic Park
1375 Civic Dr,Walnut Creek
Saturday, December 14th, 2013
7:00am | $50 / $95HALF MARATHON
The start of the half marathon will be at 7:00am Runners are encouraged to start making their way to the start line no later than 6:20am.The start line is located at the Civic Park entrance on the road in front of the driveway facing North.
This course is a loop.
Look for pacers as you stage for the Half Marathon. They will be standing in their respective corals with their signs held high. Find your pace buddy and get to know your group. Pace times are as follows:
1:30
1:40
1:50
2:00
2:10
2:20
Thanks to a reader for pointing out that the Plaza Escuela parking garage in downtown Walnut Creek (where The Cheesecake factory is located) now has parking meters on the ground level. This has particular relevance since the Walnut Creek City Council voted last week to increase street parking to $2 per hour and eliminate free parking on Sundays (beginning this Spring). Is this the beginning of the end of free parking in downtown Walnut Creek?
1509 Cypress St, Walnut Creek
Located on Cypress St. in downtown Walnut Creek, the women’s boutique TRB Outlet is closing in December or January. As you can see from the store window there is an additional 20% off. I made a Judging Boutiques post about this store back in February of last year.
Orinda Theatre
4 Orinda Theatre Square
Friday, December 6th, 2013
7:00pm – 8:30pm | $25 – $35Come hear noted travel writer and TV personality Rick Steves! Rick is the host of the PBS series Rick Steves’ Europe and is the best-selling author of over 50 European travel books. He’ll join us to share his unique travel wisdom, his experiences and anecdotes about how travel has shaped his world view and how to travel as a Global Citizen.
Please note – this event will be held at the Orinda Theater.
$35/main floor seating, $25/upper level seating
Doors open at 6:00, program begins at 7:00.
To Purchase Tickets: 925-283-6513 x103 or go to: lafayettelib.givezooks.com
Locust St, Walnut Creek
Yesterday I noted that The Nail Shop moved across the street on Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek and this looks like it’s related to SoCal based Veggie Grill possibly opening up in the old post office next door according to Diablo Dish. Check out their menu here. Note that SoCal based Tender Greens is right next to this location on the other side.
This week the Walnut Creek City Council approved a plan to double parking meter rates in downtown Walnut Creek to $2 per hour, charge on Sundays, extend the meter time from 6pm to 8pm, and increase parking meters outside of core downtown locations according to this article in the Contra Costa Times.
On the other hand, the first hour when parking within city-owned garages will be free which is nice, and the meters will begin at 10am instead of 9am. The increased revenue will support downtown programs and there will be more metered spaces available when you do need them.
I can only imagine how packed the free garages will become when this takes effect in the Spring. It’s not going to be pretty in which case I may have to think about trying out the city garages and try to get out within an hour. So do you support the parking meter changes approved by the Walnut Creek City Council?
Civic Park
1375 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek
Thursday, November 28th, 2013
8:00am | $33 – $43Please join us on Thanksgiving Morning, November 28th, for the 21st Annual Forma Gym Walnut Creek Turkey Trot to help raise money for both the Contra Costa County Food Bank and local public schools, as well as to promote physical activity. We hosted 6,000 runners and walkers in our 5K, 10K, and Kids’ Fun Runs in 2012 and anticipate an even larger crowd for 2013. We thank you for your support and look forward to sharing Thanksgiving morning 2013 with you and families at this annual holiday tradition.
In September I noted that The Nail Lounge opened on Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek and it turns out that The Nail Shop, located across the street next to Anthropologie moved there. So the old post office and this location are now available for lease which potentially could be combined for a larger store to open up.
Broadway Lane
Back in March of last year I posted the first renderings of how the Broadway Plaza redevelopment might look and this week new renderings were posted at the Walnut Creek current projects website. Previously there was consideration of converting the street for pedestrian usage only as well as apartments above the retail stores. Judging by the new renderings both of these ideas have been quashed. The rendering above shows the backside of Broadway Plaza facing Nordstrom. So how do you think it looks?
The Fountain:
More renderings after the jump…
