While the road is "reasonably well lit" by the lamps that line the street, Schmand said, they are on 90-foot poles and the tree branches and leaves beneath them reduce the light at pedestrian level. The wrapped trees provide a “combination of lighting and the magical feeling you are in a sparkly forest.”
“This is our demonstration project. The feedback we get from that will inform what we do in the future,” he said. If successful, the pilot could be extended up and down the street with the exception of the 800 block where the trees “are so laden with orchids. I wouldn’t want to mess with that installation,” Schmand said.
The BID is paying $6,700 for the demonstration project. Expanding the lighting to the entire street would be “in the $40,000 range,” according to Schmand.
Another demonstration project last month, the roving musicians from the New World Symphony on golf carts that provided entertainment while not allowing crowds to gather was very successful. “Holy cow. Isn’t it the craziest thing?” Schmand marveled. “It’s great. It’s so much fun!” He said there will be a little “tweaking” to the concept and, if the Board of the BID approves, Schmand said it could be back for one weekend a month throughout the upcoming season.
In the meantime, the BID’s complimentary health and wellness initiatives including yoga and boot camps in the 1111 garage have also proven popular. The weekend events are out of doors and attendance is limited to 70 to allow distancing on the 7th floor of the garage which normally holds 560 people.
“Because we’re doing physical fitness activity, you need ten feet in every direction,” Schmand explained. The floor is marked to ensure distancing and participants are required to wear masks in and out but not when working out. The area is sanitized before and after each session. Bonus: The view!
The programs have been expanded to two each day to meet demand. Saturdays it’s Beat the Gym Boot Camp with Tony Thomas from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and noon to 1:00 pm. Pre-registration is required. Sign up using the Beat the Gym App or through Eventbrite.
Sunday programming is Warrior Flow Yoga by Adrian Molina and runs from 9:45 am to 10:45 am and again from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Pre-registration is required. Sign up through Eventbrite.
“We’ll come out on the other side,” Schmand said. “When we do, there’s going to be a burst of activity in the economy just because of pent up desire but we gotta get to the other side” and that means following the rules of masks and social distancing. “Think about it as if everybody’s your family and you don’t want to get your family members sick," he said.
