Downtown Summit
Feedback Summary
January 26, 2007
1. What are your top three concerns for the future of Downtown? Text taken from survey responses. Number at end of statement indicates total of surveys that made comments of same or similar nature.
· Increasing rents & the closing of small, locally owned businesses & empty store fronts, central business district, help to sustain independently owned businesses, lack of solid retail base, allowing overbuilding, maintaining uniqueness, providing for and enhancing downtown businesses [14]
· Safety, graffiti, firearms, late nights at some bars, homeless issues, panhandling, relocation of homeless services, bad publicity over these issues [16]
· Beautification, trees, flowers, holiday lights, pedestrian friendly access [3]
· Promote downtown living, more residential space, bring people downtown, increase foot traffic [4]
· Maintain architecture on new construction, historical content [2]
· Lack of development [1]
· Parking [6]
· Getting more people downtown [1]
· Library [3]
· Property taxes [10]
· That downtown brings an income stream for the City [1]
· Need for a convention center
· Providing money and resources for downtown
2. Rank your Downtown priorities, 1 through 5 with 1 being the most important priority for you. (note: respondents did not all rank, but rated 1-5)
Circle one number for each item to assign the priority. # of responses in [ ]
|
Beautification (average 2.8) |
1 [4] 2 [7] 3 [4] 4 [5] 5 [3] |
|
Parking (average 2.6) |
1 [6] 2 [8] 3 [4] 4 [0] 5 [5] |
|
Public Safety (average 1.9) |
1 [12] 2 [5] 3 [3] 4 [2] 5 [1] |
|
Adequate customer base (average 1.9) |
1 [14] 2 [2] 3 [4] 4 [1] 5 [2] |
|
Other___________________ Independently owned business[3] Monopoly ownership of downtown structures No incentives to assist start ups Taxes [3] Better retail base [2] Pedestrian mall Mix of unique retail, services, entertainment and gov’t [2] |
1 2 3 4 5 |
3. What should be done to enhance Downtown?
Text taken from survey responses. Number at end of statement indicates total of surveys that made comments of same or similar nature.
The summit & the asking for feedback is great. Thanks for asking. It will take all of us continuing to work together. Get the entire City to support downtown and not take it for granted. [2]
Increase funding of police department for additional officers.
Create a downtown Lawrence welcome center. Information kiosk.
Dogs should be banned from downtown.
Pedestrian mall. No cars between 6th & 11th on Mass. We need a downtown like Boulder. [2]
Public restrooms.
Better coordination of businesses hours downtown. Major corporations, all typically have standardized business hours.
New library. Proceeding with the library project will be a plus for downtown. [2]
Downtown employees not parking in the 2hr meters or free lots. They should use the 10 hour lots or side streets. [3]
The Riverfront is a potential resource and should be developed with access.
Do not create an Aggieville – keep bars to a minimum and deal with trouble areas quickly. [2]
Develop a heritage center for downtown. Promote the history of Lawrence. Utilize the historic area designation. Create historic sculptural art. [2]
Continue to encourage redevelopment. Convention center downtown. [3]
Limit the number of liquor licenses.
Continue to provide parks and recreation resources to maintain downtown’s neatness and attractiveness. Clean up graffiti and cigarette butts. Sidewalk cleaning needs to be a priority. Beautification – continued emphasis on downtown planters. Add hanging baskets off light poles. [3]
Continue to keep downtown the number one priority of the City for retail opportunities.
Create events to bring people downtown. Art shows downtown. Encourage new downtown events, block parties, music, taste of downtown, etc. [4]
Tax codes to level the playing field for independent stores and national chains. [2]
Move toward considering more national retail.
Put the farmer’s market in the parking garage – it is covered. Keep it downtown. [2]
Close/relocate services that serve the homeless. [2]
Educate building owners about tax credits for making accessibility improvements.
Replace lights along Mass Street. The existing lighting is cold, light polluting, inefficient. Change the code to allow buildings to be illuminated at night.
Consider a tie-in to the Riverfront.
Perception of no parking and high retail needs to be addressed so that people will come downtown. Conduct a major media campaign to promote the downtown free parking lots and the parking garage. [2]
Tell us about your business . # of responses in [ ]
1. Is your business primarily:
Retail [9]
Dining [0]
Entertainment [0]
Professional/Personal services [6]
Other - Community Services [1], Lodging [1], Property Owner/Landlord [2], Library [1]
How long has your business been in Downtown?
Less than 1 year [0]
1 to 3 years [1]
4 to 10 years [4]
11 to 20 years [2]
21 to 30 years [3]
More than 30 years [9]
Why did you choose Downtown for your business location?
Text taken from survey responses. Number at end of statement indicates total of surveys that made comments of same or similar nature.
Our programs and services best serve the City by the downtown location.
Retail and dining base is an attraction to our customers.
College town. The place to be in Lawrence. The center of everything. [2]
Location. [2]
I love my town and downtown is Lawrence. It is what makes Lawrence unique. [2]
Potential exposure to more customers.
Chose to live/work on edge of East Lawrence adjoining downtown because of historic character of the area. [2]
At the time, it was the only street available for commercial use.
It was the best restaurant area.
In 1974 it was the most affordable and busiest.
Additional comments:
Bar problems, use nuisance ordinance asap, go with license approach as one more tool, implement SUP plan for use as a tougher tool.
Although our property is not on Mass, we are within walking distance and our guests enjoy walking and shopping downtown. If too much development occurs and rents get too high, only national chains will be able to afford space downtown.
Close services that serve the homeless. These agencies are ruining downtown.
It would be very helpful to have directory kiosks on each block, much the way shopping malls do. Merchants could assume the cost of installation and maintenance. The rails to trails long term goals include a bike, pedestrian, wheelchair bridge over the river. Downtown Lawrence is one of 3 characteristics that define it – also KU and great neighborhoods. Some customers will not shop downtown because of perceived problems – parking, safety, homeless, guns. When you catch someone with graffiti activities, sentence them to clean it up. Downtown is still a great place and will continue to be if we take care of these issues.