Downtown Forum

Home Up Questions Contents Search

 

 

This is a Peer to Peer section. We occasionally receive requests for information that can best be answered by those in the field. Below are some recent questions and a link to the e-mail address of those seeking advice. Please copy info@doctordowntown.com on your response so that we might post it for the benefit of others.

 

bulletIn the managed downtown of Freehold, NJ it has been suggested that a portion of the Main Street be closed to create an outside shopping experience. The goal of the suggestor is to attract more retail to the downtown which competes with the mall one mile away. The current strength of the downtown is service business and restaurants. Does experience show this concept to work elsewhere? If not, why? If so, where?

Thank you in advance for any assistance. I can be reached at: jayne@freeholdcenter.com

 

bulletThe town of Moab (pop. 5,000) in Southeast Utah is looking to make its small (about 2 blocks along Main Street) downtown more pedestrian friendly in hopes of spurring tourist-based businesses that can serve the growing number of visitors who come here for outdoor recreation. The city planning commission is proposing widening the downtown sidewalks, creating more of a plaza feel, and increasing parking on the nearby side streets. Some business owners are objecting, believing they need spots directly in front of their stores. Are there published articles on other communities that have dealt with this issue? You can contact me directly by using the following e-mail address: econdev@grand.state.ut.us . Thank you, Ken Davey,Coordinator, Moab Area Economic Development, Moab Utah.

 

bulletMy name is Mary Ann Wepfer and I am the marketing director for Appleton Downtown, Inc in Appleton, WI. We are considering having a "Taste of Downtown" this next summer and I am interested in what other downtowns have charged the restaurants as an entrance fee. Also does there seem to be an optimum number of vendors? Do you have a set fee for the "tastes", and if so how much do you charge? Any input is greatly appreciated! YOu can e-mail me directly at: maryann@appletondowntown.org

 

bulletHowdy folks. I got such great answers the last time I asked a question, I'm gonna try again with a new question! My name is Katie Byard. I am a reporter at the Akron (OH.) Beacon Journal. The question isn't about downtown, but touches on planning issues that I thought all you planning types might be familiar with! Akron city engineers are planning on NARROWING a busy thoroughfare. Why? The street, while a big cut through from one main street to another, is lined with nice homes and is losing its residential feel as traffic increases. So... planners thought they would try narrowing the street as a traffic-calming device. It's more or less unheard of to narrow streets in this area... usually they're mide wider. I'm interested in hearing from folks about other such projects to narrow streets in an effort to get cars to slow down -- and maybe even dissaude motorists from using a particular route. Thanks my work e-mail is kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com 

 

bulletMy leadership class was asked to help with the development of our downtown in Hays Kansas. We were asked to do lights and signs and right now we have no money. So what we were wondering is how we can get money in order to have great lights and signs so we can attract people down to our downtown area. Thanks for your help.

Audrey Montgomery, Leadership Studies Class, Hays, Kansas - e-mail Aud20@hotmail.com

 

 

bullet The Downtown Walla Walla Foundation (Walla Walla Wa.) is in the early stages of developing a new long range plan for our downtown and have hosted the first of what we expect will be series of public meetings to solicit community input for this project.

One of the key ideas that has already surfaced is the restoration of Mill Creek as it runs through our Downtown.  The creek was converted into a flood control channel in the 1920's (picture LA River 1/20th scale.  The ideas proposed so far include both streambed restoration and development of a pedestrian pathway along the banks linking Downtown to surrounding neighborhoods along the creek.

We are excited by the potential for this project and would like to identify some of the resources that could be applied.

Our regional Corps. of Engineers is excited about the project and interested in participating and we believe that TEA 21 funds might also be applicable.

Does anyone know what resources other communities have accessed for similar projects?

Timothy Bishop, CMSM
Director, Downtown Walla Walla Foundation
509-529-8755
timothy@downtownwallawalla.com

 

bulletHi. I'm a reporter at the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal. I'm working on a story about the city (Akron) creating angle parking in a business district that has long had a lack of parking. What's particularly interesting is that the street is a busy thoroughfare - not the quiet town square where you still might expect to find angle parking these days. I've heard of other cities are looking at/alreading have created angle parking. Is there a trend here? I'd love to here from someone in the parking/traffic field or another city on this back-to-the-future trend. On the same issue, why did cities get rid of their angle parking in the first place? One traffic engineer told me that one of the first things he learned in engineering school is that angle parking is ``bad..'' Do we have a whole generaiton of engineers that have been taught this and are now rethinking that lesson amid cities' desires to boost urban business districts? You get the drift of what I'm after! Any help would be most appreciated!   Katie Byard, staff writer, Akron Beacon Journal, phone: 330-996-3781 or 1-800-777-7232, ext. 3781 - E-mail: kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com

Response:

Ms. Byard,

I researched angle parking for you and suggest the links below.

http://www.westernwheel.com/981021/news-parking.html , http://www.islandnet.com/ITE_BC/Oct97_Angle.html , http://www.jccniowa.org/~bic/angle.html , http://the.facts.tripod.com/da990504.htm , http://www.tantramar.com/trib/1999/09/29/ , http://www.parkingtoday.com/wwwboard/messages/348.htm  

I hope you find the information useful.

Best Regards
Pete Gozza 

Gozza & Company
Development by Design, Not by Chance
Phone: 419.467.6370
Fax: 419.872.6072
Web: www.doctordowntown.com 

 

Ms. Byard,

 There are several answers to your question.

 The concept that angle parking is "Bad" comes from a traffic engineering focus on moving traffic (cars) instead of people, and the basic premise that diagonal parking forces cars to slow down as they drive through downtown whereas if angle parking is removed, traffic can move more efficiently (faster) and in many cases even the number of lanes can be increased.

 The popularity of this type of engineering is one of the many factors that wreaked havoc on our nation’s downtown's for most of the last four decades. 

 Traffic engineers and planners are beginning to understand that vibrant downtowns don't need more cars to zoom through, they need streets that are pedestrian friendly and that encourage people to explore downtown from a human perspective not just from inside their car at 40 miles per hour. 

 To this end the return to diagonal parking is an effective traffic calming device.

 Furthermore, diagonal parking is a more cost effective way to increase parking capacity than parking structure or surface lot parking. 

 A final observation would be that the return to, or change to, diagonal parking allows additional parking to be created without disrupting the architectural integrity of the built environment since no buildings need to be removed in order to store more cars. 

 Timothy Bishop, CMSM
Director, Downtown Walla Walla Foundation
33 E Main # 213
Walla Walla WA 99362
509-529-8755
timothy@downtownwallawalla.com

 

 

bulletAre you aware of any literature in connection with Transit Concurrency as mandated by Florida Land use Law and more particularly Transit Concurrency Exception Areas? Thank you. David Jove, Local Government Attorney, e-mail: djab79@aol.com

Response:

Mr. Jove,

Thank you for your interest in DoctorDowntown.com. Follow the links below. They should assist you in your search for information concerning Transit Concurrency. I will also post your question in the Downtown Forum. Good luck.

http://www.bettertransportation.org/Issues/1999/transportation_concurrency.htm

http://edesign.state.fl.us/fdi/fscc/news/wkshp/sara/oneila.htm

http://www.tbrpc.org/livable/tlupresent/tsld042.htm

http://www.ci.tallahassee.fl.us/citytlh/growth/manual/concurr.htm

Best Regards
Pete Gozza 

Gozza & Company
Development by Design, Not by Chance
Phone: 419.467.6370
Fax: 419.872.6072
Web: www.doctordowntown.com 

 

bulletIs there a definition for "affordable department store" or   some comparable term - and types of incentives for locally based - non-formula stores in a redevelopment area? Thanks. Rod Merl, Senior Admin. Analyst, City of Santa Monica, e-mail: Roderick-Merl@ci.santa-monica.ca.us

 

bullet I am interested in finding a list of tools, local governments can use to help retain, entice and help local merchants survive and grow within their domain.  Do you know of any listing of tools, which may include BID, governmental policies, etc.
I am a Ph.D. student, interested in finding out if local merchants are actually helped by these policy tools.  I would appreciate any information you can provide. I can be contacted in the following manner: Phone 516 352-5508 (home), Business- 718 388-3440, e-mail- tciuffo@aol.com       Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Anthony Ciuffo

 

bullet The Downtown Walla Walla Foundation is currently working with our City to update the city's comprehensive plan.  Our goal is to develop a downtown element within the plan this year that at a minimum establishes policy for future downtown development. Once this is accomplished we hope to develop a sub area plan or a zoning overlay for the downtown that will contain the ordinance and zoning changes needed to implement the policies identified in the downtown element of the comp plan. We are looking for any examples of communities that have already done this successfully.
If you have any examples or ideas to share please contact me at:

Timothy Bishop, CMSM
Executive Director, Downtown Walla Walla Foundation
33 E main # 213
Walla Walla Wa 99362
509-529-8755
timothy@downtownwallawalla.com

 

bulletI am looking for references and evaluations of software to support downtown marketing and business attraction. I am specifically seeking property and tenant inventory and reporting systems that can be used for the purposes of analyzing the current downtown business mix (e.g. square footage breakdown of business types) as well as providing current information (e.g., property fact sheets) to interested investors. Thanks. Steve Pitcherella, Downtown West Chester BID, Telephone: 610-219-2344, FAX: 800-407-8063, Email: stevepitch@fast.net

 

bulletLooking for strategies and methods for assessing relation and benefits of arts on economic development of an area in a city.

Thanks. Ethel Sheffer, e-mail: insightsheffer@mindspring.com

 

bulletThe Andes (tiny village on route 28 corridor in the western Catskill Mts. of upstate NY) Main Street Alliance is fervent in its wish to bury the overhead power lines in our small, but historic and currently buzzing downtown. We will soon be experiencing a digging up of the state route for a sewer system and later for a repaving and beautification of the highway by the Department of Transportation. We are listed on the register of historic places, have a few charming shops that are a real draw and a restored museum,, "The Hunting Tavern" which is also a community resource. We need a strategy for getting the utility companies together and willing to get behind such an idea, and also a way to capitalize such a project. We feel this is key to our future economic development which depends so highly on tourism, but our poor township has no money for us. Any ideas or suggestions for how to proceed? Call Judy Garrison at 8445/676-3533 or e-mail: garrison@catskill.net

 

bulletI was looking for information on the financial contributions generally provided by a city toward downtown redevelopment. How much do they usually contribute towards project costs and how do they come up with the money. We are working on a project in the city of Elkhart in Indiana and are having a hard time "selling" the city contribution as a necessary part of the success of a downtown redevelopment project. Crystal Welsh, Planner, City of Elkhart, 229 South Second St Elkhart, Indiana 46514 - Phone: 219-294-5471 ext 124 E-Mail: cmefree@juno.com

 

bullet Would you have any information on how historic pedestrian lighting affects a downtown commercial district? We are trying to convince the city to adopt black five, and three globe (and some single globes which are not historic)  metal pedestrian lights from the 1920s rather than using a green fiberglass single globe which the city has already placed in areas outside of downtown? Thank you. Barbara Ann Winter, Casper Downtown Devleopment Authority, dda@trib.com

 

bulletHello: I'm looking for examples of downtown parking ordinaces that restrict on-street to customers only and prohibit merchants and their employees from occupying these spaces. Ray Carpentino, Town Planner, City of Winsted, CT Phone: 860-379-2713, X 311  E-mail: TownPlanner@TownofWinchester.org

 

bulletMy name is Yoenjoo Jung. I'm an intern working for the Downtown Lawrence Inc. in Kansas. I'm doing a project which needs information about how to stabilize rent in downtown Lawrence. Downtown Lawrence is mostly composed of independent owners, and the history of the downtown starts more than a centry ago. Due to its unique and historical environment and the fact that the city has the University of Kansas, many national chains are eager to open in downtown, and they are willing to pay a lot more rent than what the independent owners can afford. This raise of rent ends up with high property tax to the property owners and they want to raise the rent again. Downtown Lawrence Inc. looks for ways to stop this negative circulation and to keep the characteristics of downtown. I'd really appreciate it if I could get any information about what other cities have done in the similar situation regarding their rent and property tax, any change in their method of appraising properties, and taxation, or other regulation to keep the downtown unigue. The cities that I've chosen are City of Bolder Colorado, Madison WI,Berkely CA,Bloomington IN,Hanover MA. If you have any suggestion regarding other useful website for this project, please give me your recommendation. My phone number is Home)785-331-2752. Work)785)842-3883. E-mail yjjung@falcon.cc.ukans.edu

Thank you very much.

Best Wishes,

Yeonjoo Jung.

bulletWhite Plains, NY has long been dominated by the "drive through, not to" school of traffic engineering. There is an increasing call from downtown merchants to convert from parallel parking to angle parking to increase spaces on downtown streets. Our city, with 50,000 residents and 200,000 daily working guests, needs some examples of other cities of similar size who have had either roaring success with this strategy. Even better, who's program crashed and burned... and why? Respond to: Mark Schuyler, Executive Director, White Plains Downtown, 14 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 402, White Plains, NY 10601- Phone: (914) 328-5166 Fax: (914) 328-5168 E-mail: wpdbid@redconnect.net

bulletCan you point me to some info. about the potential for grocery or boutique grocery stores in downtown areas ( ie trends, examples of locating in downtowns, etc..) . I have a developer who has expressed interest in a site in downtown for such a store but would like some info. on what other cities may be doing before persuing this further. Any leads you have would be appreciated. Thanks, Matt Kennell, President, Downtown Roanoke Inc. mattk@downtownroanoke.org

bulletI work for a state planning office and am attempting to estimate the economic impact of a Walmarts on the downtown retailers in a small to medium-sized city. Local citizens organizations have been fighting Walmarts in the courts over the past 5 years. I was wondering if you are aware of any research that has attempted to ascertain the impact of a Walmart on the local merchants. This particular Walmarts would be located just outside the town limits and very close to 2 outdoor malls with discount stores. Thanks for your assistance. Joel Yesley, Senior Planner, Maryland Office of Planning, 301 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD 21201. E-mail  joel@mail.op.state.md.us

Responses:

Joel,

I have located a number of reports you might find useful. Just click on the links. My experience with Wal-Mart has not been very pleasant. They ignore any attempt to get them involved in redevelopment and they are the only company I have ever dealt with who ignore correspondence at the corporate level. They do not seem to be very community minded.

Links:

* http://www.lightlink.com/crisbill/cpa/economics.html  

* http://www.emich.edu/public/geo/557book/c313.impactwalmart.html  

* http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/agt3/walmart.html  

Regards

Pete Gozza

05/24/00

RKG Associates in Durham, NH have conducted several studies on the effect of Walmart on smaller communities. E r y n   K.  D e e m i n g, Portland   OR. ekd@lelandconsulting.com

bulletAre there any federal funds for a movie theatre built in 1946 and privately owned? Is there a national association for historic movie theatres? Betty Kennedy, Executive Director, Main Street Zephyrhills, mcnary1213@aol.com

bullet I am working on a paper on artists live/work spaces for a graduate-level class I am taking in Community Planning and would like any information on this type of project that anyone has been involved in.  I am interested in financing, especially any subsidies or loans and grant money that was used to finance these projects.  Also, any information on zoning problems encountered would be appreciated.  I have done some research into some specific projects but most of the information has dealt with construction and rehab issues rather than funding or zoning issues.  Thank you.  Mary Kate Harrington Mary_kate_harrin@hotmail.com

bulletWe are in the process of rehabbing a circa 1947 theatre in our   small town(pop.7000) of New Albany, MS. This facility will serve not only as a theatre, but a mini-civic center for hosting seminars, community and civic organizations, etc. My committee is responsible for writing rental and usage guidelines, by-laws etc. Any experiences in these areas would be a start.  Thanks. Please respond to:  Martha Kate Wiseman, phone, 662-534-6300 e-mail, bwiseman@datalane.net

bulletThe Heart of Cary, the downtown organization for Cary, NC, is faced with a sign ordinance that will take away the character of their downtown: e.g. sign must be 50 feet away from the business. The ordinance is suited more for the suburbs and will hurt businesses. Has anyone had experience fighting City Hall or can refer us to ordinance that incorporate both downtown and the burbs? Please respond to: Phyllis Stephens, NCDDA, P. O. Box 20804, Raleigh, NC, E-mail: ncdda@aol.com

bulletHi there! I am looking for information on Urban Development Corporations, specifically their structure and role in management and developmentof Inner Cities. Can you recommend some web sites to look at? Thanks!  Katherine Cox , Central Johannesburg Partnership, CC Box Carlton Centre, Commissioner Street,Johannesburg, South Africa  ,katherine@cjp.co.za

bulletPanhandling Statute for Danbury, CT

What downtowns or Cities have successfully established a panhandling statute? Some of our city council representatives are uneasy about approving such an ordinance and I need supportive information that will influence them to institute a law against panhandlers asking downtown visitors for money. Please respond to: CityCenter Danbury [citycenter.danbury@snet.net]

bulletThe Town of Raeford is seeking ordinances that towns have established for downtowns. These ordinances concern the property owners responsibility for upkeep of property, especially maintaining parking lots and empty lots. Please respond to: Phyllis Stephens, NCDDA, P. O. Box 20804, Raleigh, NC, E-mail: ncdda@aol.com

 

bulletI am looking for examples of movie theatres that have ben converted, especially into office space, especially any governments, but any office conversion success would be good. Thanks. Ted Alexander, Shelby, NC Please respond to: Uptown Shelby Association, P. O. Box 2045, Shelby, NC 28151, E-mail: usa@shelby.net

 

bulletI am interested in how other cities are dealing storefront churches in downtowns would appreciate any information anyone has to share. Thanks. Kaye Edmisten, Rocky Mount, North Carolina Please respond to: Downtown Development Manager, City of Rocky Mount, P.O. Box 1180; Rocky Mount, NC 27802-1180 E-mail: edmistenk@ci.rocky-mount.nc.us

bulletAre there any case studies that could assist our BID in deciding whether or not to have an outdoor ice skating rink? The rink would run on a temporary basis (mid November to mid January). Still, I prefer to learn from others what works and what does not. Any clue as to where I should start? Please respond to: rsvp@downtownaustin.com

Responses:

Dear Austin:

We briefly investigated doing an outdoor rink but decided not to after talking to Kim Kimbrough who tried a rink in Jackson, Miss. and is now in St. Louis, and to Cathy Coleman in Norfolk, VA. I would talk to both of them directly but what they told me was that they were VERY popular, but also very costly and could not afford to continue them .Franklin (Kim) Kimbrough can be reached at (314) 436-6500 or www.dtslp.org and Cathy Coleman can be reached at (757)- 623-1757 or ccoleman@downtownnorfolk.org  

Matt Kennell, President, Downtown Roanoke, Inc.

Feb. 23

Dear Austin,

I just reviewed your posted message on the "doctordowntown" web site. Our experience in Manchester, NH seems to echo what you are getting from Jackson and Norfolk. As a virtually new (6 month old) organization in 1996, we took on the development, construction, and to a large extent, the management of an outdoor ice rink, with new equipment purchased from Burley's. We were actually implementing a "big idea" which was included (unfortunately without much detail as to "how") in an earlier (1993) award-winning downtown plan completed for the City and Chamber by LDR International. After 3 seasons, about 10,000 visitors each year, my board decided to call it quits. We did not operate this season. There were several major reasons, the most important one being that the approximately $10,000 in gross revenue did not cover the approximately $50,000 construction, take-down, operations, and management costs per 14-week season. Also, don't know what the weather is like in your part of the country, but even in snowy New Hampshire the weather has not, over the last 4 years, been cooperative until after December. I can give you a much more detailed version of the above if you wish. In the meantime, I have (seriously) a low-mileage, complete ice rink together with zamboni, snow blower, and other equipment --and WE ARE DEALING!! This special offer won't last long, so give me a call!! --Rich Davis rcd@intownmanchester.com

bulletI am interested in finding information about cities that have partnered with universities to promote business startups, particularly high-tech, in downtown or near downtown locations - taking advantage of vacant or under utilized square footage in old warehouse districts. Gene Stinchcomb, Research Analyst, Kentucky League of Cities, E-mail: gene@klc.uky.edu Phone: 606-323-3700

Response:

Gene:

Contact Jack Steelman at the Winston - Salem (NC) Downtown Development Authority. Jack has a great deal of experience with a urban research park in the Downtown Winston Salem warehouse district.

Matt Kennell, President, Downtown Roanoke Inc.

bullet Do any downtown development organizations raise funds by charging a consultation fee for successfully helping developers/investors/businesses complete a real estate deal. William A. Kalkhof, President, Downtown Durham, Inc., 115 Market St., Suite 213, Durham, NC 27701, Voice: (919) 682.2800, Fax: (919) 682.1980     bkalkhof@mindspring.com              www.downtowndurham.com

bulletThe Downtown Walla Walla Foundation hosts an annual Fall Festival of Foliage and Feathers each year on the last four days of October. This educational oriented event has been very successful at bringing visitors into our downtown during this slow time of year. We have also had good school participation with several grade schools coordinating field trips around the wildlife and foliage tours. We are looking for ways to expand this event in the coming year and are particularly looking for ideas that will help build the local participation in the event. If anyone else does a Fall Festival in their community and has ideas to share please contact the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation at 33 E Main # 213 Walla Walla WA 99362 phone 509-529-8755, or www.downtownwallawalla.com

Thanks for your help and ideas. Timothy Bishop, Director DWWF

bulletWe are looking to establish a "Business Advocate" position to our city’s Department of Inspections. We would appreciate copies of any existing job descriptions for this position from other communities.   David Schure,  Trenton, NJ. I can be reached at Drdowntown@aol.com (not affiliated with DoctorDowntown.com)

bulletI am looking for trends in the involvement of downtown managers or downtown management programs in the e-commerce arena. Who out there has been pro-active in developing a useable website for the downtown area that promotes or links the local businesses to the web? What has been the success rate of the response to the businesses? Thanks for any info you can provide. I can be reached at bgreeng@mindspring.com

Bruce Green, Atlanta, GA

bulletOur downtown development program is ten years old. We are to the point where we need to begin targeting businesses to recruit to the area. I am wondering if people could share with me some different ideas they may have on how to find the businesses you are looking for. I have tried Retail Lease Trac and have worked on some internet sites such as ESP Specialty Retailing but have not had any success there. I am already working with some existing retailers on expansions and have begun to go out in a 75 mile radius to find successful retailers who may be interested in second sites, but does anyone else have other ideas that have worked? Thank You. downtown@richnet.net

Pauline Eaton, CMSM, Executive Director-Main Street Mansfield, Ohio

bulletAre there efforts underway in your community to consolidate , merge, or co-locate economic development functions, such as downtown organizations, chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, CEO groups, downtown development authorities? What are the forces propelling such efforts? I can be reached at dfeehan@desmoinesdt.com

Dave Feehan, President, Downtown Partnership

bulletOur city government and private developers have asked us to explore how our BID can manage public parking facilities and also how to finance new facility construction. We are in the Puget Sound metro region and construction costs in our city are driven by Seattle/King County while we cannot command commensurate lease rates. Any ideas? I can be reached at paul.ellis@tacomachamber.org

Paul A. Ellis, Director for Metropolitan Development, Tacoma, WA

bulletWe are looking at community beautification projects mainly for individual homes. Can you give me information about other communities that have low interest funding for individuals. Where the money comes from how it is distributed and grant programs. We are not in a community with a large number of low income folks. so we do not qualify alot of times for state grants. We do have individuals who may not have the extra funds to fix their front porch or paint their house. If funds were available we hope they would utilize the service. I can be reached a ginny@computerland.net

Ginny Zoellers, Executive Director, Centralia Chamber of Commerce, Centralia, MO

bulletHello. Hoped I could put a request for info out on your line to other downtown organizations. I am the Executive Director to a relatively new downtown coordination/development agency in New Hampshire. We are currently in our first year of operations and are looking for different ways in which to become (financially) self-sustaining. We are fortunate in that the City has made a financial pledge to the organization, but realize that is not an option in the long run.

 

bulletI’d love to hear from successful downtown programs about how they remain financially stable. We’re interested in studying different income streams - membership, public and private grants, fundraising events, public (city/state) support, endowments, etc.; looking at other organizations’ administrative structure; ongoing projects; Board structure, etc.

If any fellow Downtown Directors are good enough to respond, I can be reached at eglenn@monadnock-development.org. Thank you.

Elizabeth M. Glenn, Downtown Coordinator—Keene, NH

 

 

Send mail to info@doctordowntown.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: February 28, 2006

©copyright DoctorDowntown.com 2000-01-02-03-04-05