: Message View
| Date Received: | 7/20/2025 8:01:24 PM |
| To: | Curry, Cynthia W |
| Cc: | |
| From: | Chestnut, Cynthia M |
| Subject: | Fw: [EXTERNAL] Re: Just an observation |
| Attachments: | |
| Message: |
Let's discuss on Tuesday, thanks. From: scott shillington <topchat@cox.net> Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2025 4:27 PM To: Ken McGurn <ken@mcgurn.com> Cc: citycomm <Citycomm@cityofgainesville.org> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Just an observation Great observation Ken, I want to piggyback on what you see at Streetery….
Not too long ago, the streetery area was filled with shops, hair salons, eateries, catering, vintage wear shops and shoe shops. This strip in particular was a healthy artery for the center of our small downtown. If you go further back 50 to 100 years (check historical photos of this area), you see the same….small shops, service, and restaurants lining the street with parking right out front to access and nurture the small commerce network. Returning this energy should be a focus for this street, and really all of downtown. For the last 5 years this street has been mostly a dead artery, with 10pm to 3am safety concerns not well considered. Even though the Streetery concept can add occasional use to downtown, the need for consistent daytime foot traffic of shops, service, eats and parking should be balanced. In contrast, you can witness the possibility of this same street today - with a stroll through downtown Ocala. You will see healthy daytime commerce and the appreciation of parking/access. The small retail concept is alive and well there. Downtown Ocala is a small 4X4 street grid just like ours, and I don’t think they would block off one of their few artery streets permanently - for occasional events. We are obviously a different town, but we are not too different, and their downtown is more healthy currently. We can absolutely have a dual purpose use of this Streetery area of downtown. Streetery can be a great special event magnet to bring folks to the City core with bollards up, and bollards down approach. Whether cultural events, music, or farmers markets, many cities world wide use bollards up, bollards down to facilitate these. After events or weekends, the area transforms back to an artery of commerce and access, allowing areas to be rejuvenated and re-activated for retail, service, restaurant, and parking. Parking is not the devil in downtown, it is essential and interconnected with commerce - especially with the demanding heat and weather of the future. Outdoor spaces are growing more challenging in Florida, we’ve learned that at Depot Park where rains and scorched summers prove disruptive. We’ve been talking about these topics for years - needing more retail downtown, needing more living spaces within walking distance, and finding a version of Streetery that works. We can make all of these happen. Should we spend a little less funds on Streetery, and spend a little more on programs fostering retail tenants and spaces?How can our limited funds be spent to improve downtown for all hours during the day? What can help us in the long run? There are answers and examples out there to consider. Let's be a healthy small City... before we grow bigger. Scott
|