NEWS - Calendar of EVENTS

Your recent commentary was to the point as to what is happening in an effort to get more people downtown. I was a part of the SDRA sub-committee that worked on the program. There is a lot more to it than getting people downtown. We must make them feel welcomed and meet some of their basic needs. The format of the downtown area must change.
What prevents locals from going downtown? Is it the traffic, high prices or crime? Some suggestions for change:
Traffic: Parking on Broughton Street always seems to me to be anti-business. Shop owners need spaces for people to park quickly, buy what they need and leave all within close proximity to where they shop. Broughton Street is in need of metered parking with a maximum of 30 minutes for $1. This will mitigate some costs. A survey is probably needed to fix the time and price. This will prevent cars from sitting and taking up prime spots in front of stores for two- to three-hour periods. Employees and owners should park in downtown garages, take the bus or ride a bike. Why take up a spot that your potential customer needs to quickly shop in YOUR store to make YOU money? In Savannah, some people must park in front of where they shop.
High Prices: The more you sell, the cheaper the item. The more people see your shop, the better chance you have for increasing sales. Why not appeal to locals year-round, but especially during slow periods? Locals are not going to pay the same price as tourists. Why not a special shopping day, i.e. Wednesday or Thursday, 6-9, where you close Broughton Street, except for buses, and let people walk up and down the street and browse? Outside vendors can provide a wider range and price of goods and services. Should shop owners downtown be the only ones making the monies? The vendors would pay a small fee that can then be shared by the shop owners. These vendors will bring in extra people who will look at what’s in your shop, hopefully, see what’s available, buy then or come back later. People are not going to buy something every time they come downtown. Shop owners should welcome shoppers, have them sign in for mailing list specials, be helpful, friendly and inform potential shoppers of their uniqueness for future references.
Crime: Is it a reality or a perception-show me the numbers. The new City Market Garage and square could be an excellent marketplace to alleviate the former. Offer free or reduce parking fees in the garage, customers can park, go upstairs, shop and/or browse, and then get right back into their cars all within the same block. Vendors not normally downtown will act as a draw for new customers and families one day a week to start. An organic farmers market (SAAFON) seems to be a great draw. Visitors will then be welcomed and encouraged to explore the entire downtown and see for themselves the safe environment. I don’t recommend uniform police officers but a neatly dressed mixture of youth guides.
Cultural diversity. The questions you asked were directed towards black and white folks. I think that it is more directed at black folks. Why don’t they shop downtown? A 22 percent poverty rate is one reason. Having owned a store downtown, I think that I can answer that. Blacks are expected to be consumers only and have difficulties owning businesses downtown. There are obstacles along the way. There are vacant parcels along MLK from Gwinnett to Bay Street mostly owned by African-American churches. However, speculators have bought up strategic pieces of real estate, holding them up for ransom at unreasonable prices and waiting on the market to reach those levels. Consequently, the members of churches along MLK are hanging on to the impression that they can get 3 dollars for a 1 dollar bill or don’t really understand the principle of highest and best use. The churches are the solution and the problem. Churches coming together would break this up by not allowing plotage and assemblages of their vacant parcels. Churches must align with businesses along MLK to develop the sites themselves; .the potential is tremendous. This will create jobs and business ownership by African Americans. This will give downtown a boost and really create a feeling of “Ubuntu.” ("Ubuntu" is an ancient African word meaning "humanity to others." Ubuntu also means "I am what I am because of who we all are.")
It would be in the best interest of downtown businesses to see that this happens. You want more people downtown, more potential customers, less crime – that is the bottom line. The Downtown Business Association needs to take the initiative on these suggestions and include potential business owners along MLK also…they have the expertise. This is essentially the same proposal that I made back in 2002.