Member Marketing Benefits
Utilize the tools we provide to market your business across various platforms.
E-News & Social Media Posts
Include your marketing content in our weekly public e-newsletter & on our Facebook/Instagram
Submit Marketing Content
Event Calendar
Share your upcoming event or promotion on the event calendar located on our homepage
Submit Calendar Request
Website Directory
Add or update your business listing on our online directory
Website Directory Request
Job Postings
Advertise job opportunities at your business or organization for free on our website
Submit Job Post
Member-Only Advertising Opportunities
Looking for additional exposure and paid advertising opportunities with Walnut Creek Downtown? Learn more about our Website Ads Program & our co-op advertising opportunity with Diablo Magazine's A-List
Website Ads Program
New style, modern design, fresh content and bright colors along with 5,000 visitors per month make WalnutCreekDowntown.com the best place to show off your brand
NEW!
Diablo Magazine's A-List
The A-List is a weekly digital newsletter that reaches over 22,000 opt-in subscribers. This shared ad space with WCD is a great way to highlight your upcoming events, sales or other promotional info
Downtown Construction Project 2024
Several construction projects in the downtown are for 2024. These projects will impact the roadway and may be noisy. They have been coordinated to immediately following one another in order to reduce the amount of time that the downtown will be impacted.
The Locust Street Project is slated to be complete by mid-October 2024.
Questions? Contact Mike Hawthorne, hawthorne@walnut-creek.org
Downtown Construction Update (September 20th, 2024)
The project continues sidewalk improvements in front of 5 Tacos and Beers and Melo’s. Next, the contractor will begin demo of sidewalk in front of Rooted Coffee, The Lounge Nail Spa, Le Caprice & House of Bagels. Businesses and sidewalks remain open to the public. Your understanding is appreciated as this project nears the finish line, which is currently slated for mid-October.
Downtown Construction Schedule for Locust Street
The City of Walnut Creek is pleased to announce that the Locust Street night paving project is nearing completion. The next phase of the project will be repaving Locust Street from Civic Drive to Mt. Diablo Blvd.
To minimize disruptions to our busy downtown area, the paving work will be conducted during the nighttime hours, from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM, starting Tuesday, October 8th, and continuing through Thursday, October 10th. During this time, Locust Street will be closed between Civic Drive and Mount Diablo Boulevard. Clear detour signs will be posted to guide drivers around the construction area.
We appreciate your understanding and patience during this phase of construction, and we will work diligently to complete this phase as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Michael Hawthorne at 925-943-5899 x2245 or via email at hawthorne@walnut-creek.org
Business Resources
Contra Costa Continuum of Care
ACCESSING HOMELESS SERVICES IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The Contra Costa Continuum of Care (CoC) unites over 50 organizations, cities, towns and individuals with a shared mission to prevent and end homelessness in Contra Costa County. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the CoC strategically plans housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. The main goals of CoC are:
- Ending homelessness
- Funding rapid rehousing
- Promoting program access
- Optimizing self-sufficiency
For contact information click here (English) or here (Spanish)
Walnut Creek Downtown Association, Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
FILL OUT THIS SURVEY TO WIN $500
Business Leaders, we want to hear from you! The Walnut Creek Downtown Association & the Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau are conducting a business needs assessment to help each organization address the needs identified. As we convene leaders & influencers to make things happen, the collected data will assist with helping us advocate for change. Your input is vital – please take 5 minutes to complete the ‘check the box’ responses. If you’d like to enter a drawing for a $500 award, please provide your name & email address at the end of the survey.
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
CONSTRUCTION AT BOTELHO DR. & S. MAIN ST. INTERSECTION
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD) has contracted with Devaney Engineering, Inc. to perform sewer renovation work. The work entails excavation and abandonment of an existing
sewer main pipeline.
The construction near downtown businesses tentatively scheduled to begin July 23rd 2024 expected to have a duration of 1 Week. Regular working hours will be between the hours of 7:00am - 3:30pm on weekdays.
During this time, there will be lane closures implemented for public safety. Access to properties will be maintained at all times for owners and emergency services. Routine services such as mail delivery, trash and recycling will be coordinated with your service provider.
East Bay Municipal Utility District
SOUTH MAIN STREET PIPELINE PROJECT
EBMUD crews will begin replacing a section of the water pipeline that runs along South Main Street from Mt. Diablo Blvd to Botelho Drive, Walnut Creek. The project duration will be from beginning of September to the end of October. The project will require night work on:
- South Main Street @ Mt Diablo Blvd. on September 3 – 6 (Tuesday through Friday), 10pm–7am.
- South Main Street @ Olympic Blvd. on September 10 – 12 (Tuesday through Thursday) 10pm-7am. The work is being done at night to minimize impact to businesses as there will be a water service interruption.
What to expect:
During night work, you can expect temporary road closures, parking restrictions, equipment, materials, some construction-related noise and dust, and temporary lighting to support overnight work. Crew will limit traffic along South Main Street. Pedestrian and emergency vehicle access will be maintained.
Questions:
Visit www.ebmud.com/construction
Or contact Community Affairs at
510-287‐0140 or construction-east@ebmud.com
Outside of normal business hours, call 1-866-403-2683
California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
NEW LAW REQUIRING OFFERING DRUG TESTING KITS
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is reminding its licensees and applicants that on July 1, a new law will take effect mandating Type 48 license holders offer drug testing kits for sale or at no cost to patrons.
AB 1013 (Lowenthal) requires establishments with a Type 48 license to display signage in a prominent and conspicuous location, letting patrons know drug testing kits are available to test for common date-rape drugs, often referred to as ‘roofies.’
Read full statement here.
City of Walnut Creek
REBOUND PROGRAM
As the Rebound Program expires, each business that made use of the program benefits will need to take action. A summary of the impacts is included below and detailed information will be provided in subsequent sections.
Changes for all City businesses:
Unpermitted signage must be removed. Temporary Commercial Signage and Window Signage Guidelines for businesses, including real estate, were relaxed during the Rebound Program and will revert to the City’s standard requirements. For example, banners will no longer be allowed without a permit and A-frames will not be permitted at all. The City is partnering with WCD to explore a potential pilot program to allow A-Frames to be used Downtown on a seasonal basis.
Planters, carts, barrels, railings, and other materials must be removed. All items that were
added as part of Rebound, such as planters for traffic protection in Rebound Popups or
materials used to delineate and decorate Rebound spaces, must be removed from streets and sidewalks by May 16, 2024.
Parking spaces must be made available for parking. As Rebound ends, both public and private parking spaces currently used for storage, operations, or other non-parking activities will need to be returned to parking unless allowed by a City permit.
Temporary structures must be removed. Building and Fire Codes were relaxed for temporary structures during the Rebound Program. Temporary structures built under these relaxed guidelines must be removed by May 16, 2024, or updated to meet standard City and Outdoor Dining Program requirements.
All Rebound Temporary Activity Permits (TAP) will expire. TAPs were used to allow extended special events and grand opening celebrations. At the end of Rebound, the TAP program will return to the standard guidelines and 5-day limit.
Read full statement here.
ADA Compliance
FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES
Downtown Walnut Creek businesses have been impacted by website compliance lawsuits. It's important for businesses to ensure that their websites are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant to provide equal access to people with disabilities and to minimize the risk of potential litigation. ADA compliance for websites is an evolving field, and it's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest guidelines and recommendations to ensure compliance.
To begin, the State of California follows the federal ADA guidelines when it comes to website accessibility for businesses: https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/
Below are a few “common sense” issues to consider as a starting point when reviewing your website:
- All media files and maps should have an “alt” tag
- All online forms should have descriptive html tags
- All hyperlinks should have a descriptive anchor text
- All pages on your website have “skip navigation” links (this one I don’t usually worry about as much)
- Video and audio content must have text captions
- Websites should keep the color contrast ratio at a level for visually impaired users
- Underlined text should lead to a link
There are plug-ins, software and services available to assist you with this process, which is an ever-changing challenge.
Please consult with your webmaster to review your current website. If you need additional assistance, feel free to contact the team at WebQuarry who offers assessments and a variety of solutions that provide various levels of protection.
Get Involved
Board & Committee Meetings
Walnut Creek Downtown Association Board and Committee Meetings are open to the public. Our Board of Directors are responsible for the governance, direction, policies, budgets, and positions of Walnut Creek Downtown Association. Special committees and taskforces include: Wellness Alliance, Arts Alliance, Hospitality Alliance, and Ice Rink Committee. All WCDA members are encouraged to attend these meetings as a way to connect with business community and get involved with local business initiatives.
Connect With WCD Members
MEMBERS-ONLY FACEBOOK GROUP
Join our private group on Facebook, made exclusively for Members and Associate Members of our organization. We have created this group to better serve our local businesses by having a forum to communicate directly with each other and in a closed environment. With this communication page, we hope to facilitate a mutual sharing of ideas and improve engagement within our partnership with all of you. We encourage businesses to connect, collaborate, and support one another. Join today and feel free to invite your fellow WCD businesses.
Keeping Our Community Safe
DOWNTOWN SURVEILLANCE
The Walnut Creek Police Department has recently been exploring ways to connect with the business community to share information when crimes occur. Together, WCD and WCPD have created a Downtown Security Surveillance Program.
A Microsoft Teams group named "WCPD / Walnut Creek Downtown Association" has been created to share information (text, photos, and video) with downtown businesses, the Walnut Creek Downtown Association, and WCPD. Click below to learn more details & opt-into the program.
Business Education Videos
Pareto Labs
Good News! We have a new resource to assist you in helping you improve performance and grow your business. We've partnered with Pareto Labs an online business learning platform containing a wealth of video content to help business owners, entrepreneurs and non-MBAs learn practical business skills. These on-demand video modules are short (between 20 and 60 minutes) and are super engaging, breaking down complex topics so business owners and employees can use the knowledge immediately. Their lessons also feature leaders in Fortune 500 companies and founders of billion-dollar startups.
In partnership with Walnut Creek Downtown Association, Pareto Labs is offering a 14 day trial followed by a month of unlimited access for FREE (6 weeks total). Use promo code WALNUTCREEKDOWNTOWN at checkout.
Below is a sampling of trailer links for some of their courses:
· BUILDING A BUDGET
· HOW TO READ FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
· WHAT DO I PAY ALL THESE PEOPLE
· DEMYSTIFYING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
City of Walnut Creek
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPT.
The economic vitality of the city’s business community is a valuable factor when businesses consider bringing their team to Walnut Creek. The diverse shopping, dining and services, particularly in the downtown district, are positive amenities appealing to new and existing owners, operators and their staff.
Walnut Creek’s Economic Development Department provides a snapshot of the Community, Shopping, Business & Industry profiles in their quarterly reports. Click here to view the department’s website and ED dashboard.
View the 2022 Q4 Data Dashboard
Events & Sponsorship Opportunities
The Walnut Creek Downtown Association plans events throughout the year with the goals of cultivating a vibrant community, encouraging visitors from near and far, and promoting our local businesses.
We are here to help!
Have questions about your WCD membership, member benefits, events or anything else about Downtown Walnut Creek?
Connect with a member of our team today.