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Progress Reveals Herself on Artesia’s Thoroughfares

Forty-five years ago, a man named Richard Salisbury won a contest put on by the City of Artesia, which at the time had ten years of incorporation under its belt. The contest was to give the city a motto, and the words that Mr. Salisbury had chosen were, “Service builds tomorrow’s progress.”
Since then, progress has been building and this year is no exception. Even despite economic hardships, we as a City are pulling out all the stops this year.
For example, we recently were recognized for our efforts on Artesia Blvd. with the 2012 Compass Blueprint Award for Achievement in Livability by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). This is impressive because SCAG represents plenty of cities, and to be recognized among so many cities means that what we’ve done is truly remarkable.
On Pioneer Blvd. today, we can witness some of the spirit that Mr. Salisbury must have envisioned for the new city. We can also see the obstacles that such spirits often must overcome. Wh ile the final piece of downtown Pioneer’s renewal was under way, the State’s Department of Finance decided on a technicality that it won’t let the City use the redevelopment money that was already set aside for the project. The DOF informed the Successor Agency to the Artesia Redevelopment Agency (or just “Successor Agency) that it rejected the three contracts which were involved with the project.
The Successor Agency will be amending the documentation that governs these contracts on June 27, and will resubmit these documents tothe DOF for approval.
40 years ago Pioneer Blvd. was still the place to be in the region. Later, when the malls started popping up, the public’s interest became dispersed. But still, the cultural delights that we find downtown have created such a niche that it can and does compete well with surrounding markets. Being that downtown Artesia is probably the biggest financial engine for our City, it makes sense to invest in it. I truly believe that almost all of us (there will always be exceptions) will love what we have in store for downtown.
Just to give you the reader a hint about what’s coming, the project boundaries for Pioneer Blvd. are between 183rd and Pioneer, and 188th and Pioneer . The plan is to build a narrow median of various widths which will feature palms, climbing roses, lantana, Australian poppies, and ground cover. These plants will be drought resistant and help conserve water while also creating beautiful scenery. The plants will be watered through a drip and bubble irrigation system which will be operated by solar timers.
Along the sides of the street will be ‘bulb planters for various trees. Also along the street will be different types of ‘street furniture’, like benches for example.

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