What should be next for downtown

[witulski]

) Commuter based rail would also free up the need for employers to hunt down parking for employees. I know of a company right now that is growing rapidly in the burbs and is in the process of buying a new office building, basically in the same suburb they are in now. Reason for not moving downtown: can't effectively provide convenient parking for its 100+ employees (and growing). And this company seems like it would be a perfect fit for downtown.

[wingbert]

Real or perceived, there is also a feeling that downtown just isn't really that open to innovative thinking. You want to open a __[insert store name/type here] ? Well, here are some permits to fill out. Now, we need you to talk to this committee, and then if they say OK, it's on to that committee. Now, let's spend some time on an analysis. Will you be selling something that somebody else downtown already sells? We better check with them to see how they feel. Now, let's open this up for public discussion and comment. Can you come back in a couple of months and re-present your business case? What color curtains do you plan on having? Oh, you want window blinds instead of curtains? Then please go back and find form 1548743B to request an exception to the curtain ordinance. Let's discuss the allowable wattage of the light bulbs you plan to use in your rest rooms. Now, here is your 27 page manual on signage. Please review this and then present your sign design in triplicate to the sign review committee. They meet once every thee months. Unfortunately, you just missed their last meeting so you'll have to wait three months for the next one.

I'm being a tad facetious but honestly, some times the rules and regulations downtown and the efforts to force adherence to them seem positively stifling. For example, can you believe it was even an issue a couple of years ago that Devos Place was projecting colored wording on the river side of the building to promote whatever show happened to be taking place? You just want to slap someone.

[GRDadof3]

There it is... parking IS a problem downtown. Companies don't want to locate there because it's a hassle, and consumers don't want to shop there because it's a hassle. Seems to me solving this problem, whether it's real or perceived, is the major bottleneck for greater DT growth.

[plee30]

There it is... parking IS a problem downtown. Companies don't want to locate there because it's a hassle, and consumers don't want to shop there because it's a hassle. Seems to me solving this problem, whether it's real or perceived, is the major bottleneck for greater DT growth.

[wingbert]

There it is... parking IS a problem downtown. Companies don't want to locate there because it's a hassle, and consumers don't want to shop there because it's a hassle.

[yankee_farmer]

When in fact the solution is to keep those cars out of downtown and mass transport as many people as possible in.

[arcturus]

The problem is that for most people, to read what I posted about that company, their first instinct would be "well let's build them a parking lot." When in fact the solution is to keep those cars out of downtown and mass transport as many people as possible in.

[yankee_farmer]

You're never going to get the suburban housewife or teenage crowd to take mass transit downtown to shop. Retailers already know this.

[GRDadof3]

You're never going to get the suburban housewife or teenage crowd to take mass transit downtown to shop. Retailers already know this.

[arcturus]

You're basing that assumption on what?

[witulski]

Yeah, sometimes the stuff I post is not made up.

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/Parking-...parking+problem

The problem is that for most people, to read what I posted about that company, their first instinct would be "well let's build them a parking lot." When in fact the solution is to keep those cars out of downtown and mass transport as many people as possible in.

[GRDadof3]

Not assumption, fact. Their absence to downtown speaks volumes.

Sporting/cultural events are another story.

"mature retail enviroment" ?

[arcturus]

You know, there's a huge parking problem in Saugatuck every Saturday and Sunday during the summer. It's nearly impossible to find a parking spot in town and you have to park and walk to get to the shops, restaurants, galleries, etc. And yet, year after year the place remains popular. People don't mind the hassle because there's a destination worth getting to and people want to be there. Sure, they are two different size cities, but there's a lesson for GR in there somewhere.

[arcturus]

Fact? You're making the assumption that they won't take mass transit to downtown to shop based on their absence? Could the virtual absence of downtown retail be the reason for their absence?

[Rizzo]

That is an ideal solution, but given our car-oriented culture, I would say it is probably more appropriate to look for a blended approach, including public trans, carpooling, telecommuting, and more efficient use of existing parking infrastructure downtown.

[witulski]

I don't know all the details, but from what I hear it's a combination of cost of parking (100 employees x future employment x $100/month x 12 months), and the inconvenience.

[Rizzo]

So if employees parking downtown is an inconvenience, then what's convenient? Finding a place for them to park FAR AWAY from downtown, making them walk to a station to wait for a bus/streetcar/train, ride it downtown, disembark, and walk further to work? I'd bet most employees who are used to suburban surface lots are gonna think that's a pain.

With such a barrier of inconvenience in the way, how has any great downtown area grown? What's the solution?

[GRDadof3]

So if employees parking downtown is an inconvenience, then what's convenient? Finding a place for them to park FAR AWAY from downtown, making them walk to a station to wait for a bus/streetcar/train, ride it downtown, disembark, and walk further to work? I'd bet most employees who are used to suburban surface lots are gonna think that's a pain.

With such a barrier of inconvenience in the way, how has any great downtown area grown? What's the solution?

[witulski]

Yeah I'm interested in the conversation, but I don't mean to hijack it either. Maybe it just means that we think transit improvement may have to be The Next Big Thing for downtown. I know I'd be excited about it. Trains have a big-city feeling that buses, however practical, just don't inspire. For me at least.

[Rizzo]

Yeah I'm interested in the conversation, but I don't mean to hijack it either. Maybe it just means that we think transit improvement may have to be The Next Big Thing for downtown. I know I'd be excited about it. Trains have a big-city feeling that buses, however practical, just don't inspire. For me at least.

[PR-15]

I am so sick of threads about parking...it's time to shut up about it. This city is absolutely chock frickin' full of parking ramps and surface lots.

I can swing a dead cat on every street corner in Grand Rapids and be within 100 paces, at MOST, of an official place to park a vehicle. We have a walking problem...and a potential customer that wants to see their destination when they kill the motor of the mini-van.

You'll be thrilled to know there's even more parking coming at the UICA building and 38 Commerce....enjoy. Now let's shut up and get to work on our "walking more than a city block problem."

What we don't have is a more convenient way and innovative way to move 4, 5, 6...10 city blocks around the urban core once I park my car...let's resolve that too.

[NorthCoast]

1. There really needs to be some campaign or collaboration between the city and businesses to somehow educate and illustrate to people just how easy it is to get into, park, and get around downtown. It would need to be something very obvious or something people wouldn't have to go out of their way to learn about.

2. A strategically placed unique, day-time retail destination spot wouldn't hurt either. It would have to be something on the scale of an urban mall which provided stores, products, and experiences (Crate and Barell, IKEA, etc.) that are not accessible in the suburban malls.

I'm pretty sure both ideas have been floated around on here before.

However, I think the best thing the region could do is create some sort of private, non-profit organization whose sole responsibility would be to develop the city in terms of resources and real estate.

Example: The City of Cincinnati has what is called 3CDC (Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation). A private, non-profit organization that has taken point on numerous projects that the public sector cannot handle and that the conventional private sector is to leary to undertake. This organization has been very effective in moving to have Cincinnati's downtown Fountain Square completey re-modeled to be the community center of the city. Revitalization has followed suit. They were also a key factor in laying the base groundwork for The Banks project. An infill urban and park development along the Ohio River (where Riverfront Stadium) used to be. Groundbreaking occurred this year and when it is all finished the city will boast a state of the art riverfront park and urban neighborhodd nestled between two sports stadiums and anchored by the Underground Railroad Museum. The primary focus of the organization now is the revilization of the Over-the-Rhine district. A historic district just north of DT Cincinnati consisting of one of the nations largest remaining neighborhoods of Italianate architecture. Plagued by delapidation, high crime, and race riots...it is now being refurbished and is on the way to becoming the city's premier eclectic neighborhood providing boutique shops, unique bars/restaurants, and modern downtown living units.

Imagine what this type of enterprise, funded by the city's major donors et. al., could do in Grand Rapids. It would be a unified place catering to all business interests. And since they would be private they would be able to avoid the red tape and distractions that a public entity like the City of Grand Rapids would have to deal with on a daily basis.

[Veloise]

...However, I think the best thing the region could do is create some sort of private, non-profit organization whose sole responsibility would be to develop the city in terms of resources and real estate.

...

Imagine what this type of enterprise, funded by the city's major donors et. al., could do in Grand Rapids. It would be a unified place catering to all business interests. And since they would be private they would be able to avoid the red tape and distractions that a public entity like the City of Grand Rapids would have to deal with on a daily basis.

[GRDadof3]

1. There really needs to be some campaign or collaboration between the city and businesses to somehow educate and illustrate to people just how easy it is to get into, park, and get around downtown. It would need to be something very obvious or something people wouldn't have to go out of their way to learn about.

2. A strategically placed unique, day-time retail destination spot wouldn't hurt either. It would have to be something on the scale of an urban mall which provided stores, products, and experiences (Crate and Barell, IKEA, etc.) that are not accessible in the suburban malls.

I'm pretty sure both ideas have been floated around on here before.

However, I think the best thing the region could do is create some sort of private, non-profit organization whose sole responsibility would be to develop the city in terms of resources and real estate.

Example: The City of Cincinnati has what is called 3CDC (Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation). A private, non-profit organization that has taken point on numerous projects that the public sector cannot handle and that the conventional private sector is to leary to undertake. This organization has been very effective in moving to have Cincinnati's downtown Fountain Square completey re-modeled to be the community center of the city. Revitalization has followed suit. They were also a key factor in laying the base groundwork for The Banks project. An infill urban and park development along the Ohio River (where Riverfront Stadium) used to be. Groundbreaking occurred this year and when it is all finished the city will boast a state of the art riverfront park and urban neighborhodd nestled between two sports stadiums and anchored by the Underground Railroad Museum. The primary focus of the organization now is the revilization of the Over-the-Rhine district. A historic district just north of DT Cincinnati consisting of one of the nations largest remaining neighborhoods of Italianate architecture. Plagued by delapidation, high crime, and race riots...it is now being refurbished and is on the way to becoming the city's premier eclectic neighborhood providing boutique shops, unique bars/restaurants, and modern downtown living units.

Imagine what this type of enterprise, funded by the city's major donors et. al., could do in Grand Rapids. It would be a unified place catering to all business interests. And since they would be private they would be able to avoid the red tape and distractions that a public entity like the City of Grand Rapids would have to deal with on a daily basis.

[DSchoon]

I'm not really sure what post to respond to here. But from what I'm hearing it sounds like the mass transit and parking have formed some kind of religion.

Trains aren't going to make downtown any more convenient for people who aren't already in walking neighborhoods. That's complete fiction. There is no conceivable way that it could shorten the commute into downtown when compared to normal traffic conditions. It's just too easy to get from the suburbs.

What you actually need it for is people who are just outside of downtown...in Easttown or Creston or by John Ball Park, where there is real congestion and people would prefer to walk either way. But that isn't going to make downtown any more of a shopping destination than it already is. Downtown shopping is inferior to that of most neighborhoods and I can't see that changing in my lifetime. If there was a light rail system in Grand Rapids I would never take it downtown to shop, I would take it to Uptown and East Fulton.

And I'm sick of hearing about this myth of a parking shortage. Say it like it is: There isn't enough free parking. If you want to pay you will always find a spot somewhere.