This weekend was further evidence of that success, with the Sunday evening Carol of Lights celebration. Horse-drawn carriages click-clopped through the streets, a festively lighted train carried passengers down Campbell Avenue, carolers entertained strollers, and the city gave out complimentary hot chocolate and cookies, while young and old alike played in 40 tons of man-made snow.

But what brightened the night was more than holiday lights, it was the restaurants and shops that were open for the event. Alie's Corner, normally closed, had a special menu. Katie Blooms and Mio Vicino were busy, as were Orchard Valley, Starbucks and Blendz. Boutiques and shops were also open for business and the downtown felt alive.

The celebration on Sunday evening appeared to breathe new life into what has, at times, become a topsy-turvy economic situation in the downtown.

Even with all the improvements and changes that have been made during the last five years, the downtown still appears to be undefined. It's still lacking an identity, which could be resolved by bringing a major retail name to the district, a name people could associate with downtown Campbell.

This lack of identity continues to affect the health of the district. It's one of the reasons residents are unfamiliar with what the downtown has to offer and one of the reasons merchants move out after just a few years.

But many of the merchants also don't take the downtown seriously, giving Campbell Avenue a sense of business inconsistency.

If shoppers enter the downtown at Railway and Central avenues, an army of trendy stores and restaurants, which are always open for business, quickly greets them. But that starts to fade when shoppers drive west toward Winchester Boulevard.

Cross Central Avenue and pass Alie's Corner on one side and Orchard Valley and Kensington Art Center across the street and the downtown is still busy, but wander into the Courtyard—a collection of shops—and closed doors greet shoppers. The shops in this section do not have the same hours, with most open only several days a week.

Continue up the block, crossing First Street, and Starbucks and Blendz can be counted on for a coffee or sandwich, but then the rest of the block—on both sides of the street—is mostly vacant.

So the question becomes: What is the vision for the downtown? What is needed to make it a success and create that sense of continuity? Is the answer more boutiques and one-of-a-kind shops? Or is it greater tenant diversity as in the Pruneyard Shopping Center, which not long ago was also a dead and forgotten place? Today finding parking at the Pruneyard is a challenge—confirmation of its success.

As the economy continues to lag and numerous downtown stores and office space remain vacant, it is a perfect time for city planners to revisit their long-range goals. The city can make some bold moves by bringing in businesses that consumers want and residents need. With Campbell's long-term master plan to improve the neighborhoods where people live and bring urban amenities closer to residents, planners need to welcome stores into the downtown that reduce the need for people to get into their cars and drive to the mall.

Perhaps the owner of the former Stoddards, a behemoth building,would consider reconfiguring the inside into an upscale mini-mall. The city already has a parking structure to support it across the street.

Yet no matter what is decided, it's in the city's best interest to bring in name-brand stores that will draw the residents into an area that is truly a gem. With a few well-known businesses, residents and nonresidents alike would stop their cars and linger. They would discover what else this unique section of town has to offer, and all the stores would prosper.

When anchors like Barnes & Noble, Trader Joe's, and Hollywood Video came to the Pruneyard, the customers followed, and the effect boomeranged onto other merchants. The same can be said for the Hamilton Plaza, which also saw limited customer activity until it was renovated. The stores in the downtown need a similar lift, and it's up to the city and the redevelopment agency to make that happen.

So until the city has defined what it wants the downtown to be, how about if the Downtown Campbell Business Association and the Chamber work together to encourage businesses to keep similar hours and to stay open at the same time, because when only half of the downtown has its lights on, all of the downtown suffers.

Moryt Milo is the editor of The Campbell Reporter. She can be contacted at 408.200.1051 or mmilo@svcn.com.