This past weekend Bremerton hosted its annual Blackberry Festival, the magical yearly event that transforms downtown Bremerton into a smorgasbord of sights, sounds and things to do. For those of us who have invested for the long run in homes surrounding the downtown area, we briefly and fleetingly catch a glimpse of what a vibrant downtown future could hold.

It would be a future filled with trips downtown for groceries, restaurants and entertainment. There would be warm comfortable places to sit in inclement weather with a book and a something nice to drink. It would include a collection of interesting and diverse establishments to catch up with and hang out with friends or to just quietly and individually watch the world go by. Affordable places to go for dinner as a family and then just a short walk down the street for a movie or other fun activities would also be available.

Business growth would be encouraged and not taxed out of consideration. Parking would be easily understood and affordable. Bike racks and benches would be plentiful, functional and artistic. Walking would be encouraged and protected. Intersections and traffic flows should always be engineered in favor of the pedestrian.

In the 12 years I have been a home-owning resident, downtown Bremerton has changed and improved in many positive ways via private development and publicly-funded common area improvements.

Of course there have been some gross missteps along the way as well, such as the continued retention of Diamond Parking and the City Council’s decision to take it upon themselves to temporarily bypass the Arts Commission and purchase questionable, ill-fitting, ugly, overpriced fish art.

Deep down I still have faith in Bremerton’s potential. How long it takes to reach that potential is anyone’s guess.

It may very well be the small steps that get us to our improved destination as a successful community instead of the grandiose leaps and bounds that have been promised and marketed to us over the years by various elected officials. But we will get there and I am very glad I have an established and involved front row seat to watch all of it unfold.