Lisa Goodman wrote:
> How are residents being encouraged to shop downtown if most of the stores
> are closed ½ of the weekend? Is retail downtown just for the downtown
> workforce? I'd be willing to bet my 26,500 neighbors downtown will now look
> for somewhere else to shop on Sunday. I just hope Dayton's and IDS don't
> follow the Brookfield's lead.
The whole issue of shopping downtown has to be re-examined. In my
opinion, there are several problems with shopping in downtown.
One is the "location of parking" issue. I have been downtown twice in
the last two weeks, both on a weekday, to visit both the Central
library and the Municipal libary. In both cases, I felt like I spent
too much time looking for a parking spot. I eventually parked 6 blocks
away from where I would have liked to park, near the Central library.
All in all, I was frustrated looking for a parking spot.
Another is the "cost of parking" issue. I also had to pay for this
privilege of parking. Had I gone to a suburban library, I most likely
would have parked for free and within one block of the library
entrance.
In both cases, I could have taken a bus in and out of downtown because
I was not caring anything except my laptop. However, had I gone
downtown to shop, I would not have wanted to utilize a bus to care
myself and my newly acquired possessions back to my house, unless I
had purchased only a few small items that easily fit in one small bag.
Anyone ignoring the car culture in their decisions to locate downtown
is asking for failure.
Another issue is the "hours of operation" of the retail stores. Unless
I am downtown between 9 and 5, I have given up on shopping at any
business in downtown because too often I have been burned by a store
being closed after 5 PM. Not only do the suburban malls provide
convenient, "free" parking, the are open when I am able to shop,
namely after 5 PM.
The final issue I want to mention is the "variety of stores" issue. In
a suburban shopping mall or retail center, I often find a grocery
store, a number of mid-level retail stores, and a number of smaller
specialty shops. I try to group my shopping trips into one trip so
that I am not shopping everyday. This means that in order for my trips
to be productive, I often need a hardware store, a grocery store, and
a retailer like Target. Downtown is getting a Target, but where is the
grocery store?(Byerly/Lunds where are you?) Where do I buy the small
household repair items that I now buy at a hardware store or at Home
Depot/Menards? Where do I buy the compact disc?
As much as I like the idea of shopping downtown (I like the hustle and
bustle and the tall buildings :) ), I find that actually shopping in
downtown is a hassle. It is easier to shop in some suburban shopping
center.
I see several societal forces working against making downtown a
worthwhile shopping destination. One is cost. Can downtown afford to
provide convenient, free, and sufficient parking space like the
suburban shopping centers? My guess is that the land costs of downtown
would prevent that. With land being less expensive in the suburbs, it
is less costly for them to pave over acres of land to create parking
lots. And can we expect that the suburban shopping centers will start
charging for parking? Not likely. Why would they?
Another force is where people live. Sure, many people commute into
downtown every morning, but the suburbs have grown up with convenient
shopping centers where people live. There may be 26,500 people living
in or near downtown, but many people in Minneapolis live somewhat
close to a suburban shopping center. I only live 15 minutes from the
Rosedale area, which, for the most part, has most of the stores I shop
at. So, it is easy to drive over to a suburban shopping center.
It seems to me that downtown has to do a lot before it becomes
attractive enough so that people want to shop there. At a minimun,
parking has to be hassle free and there needs to be more variety of
stores.
All in all, it bugs me that I am turned off by downtown shopping. I
live so close to downtown and I see its sky line from my dining room
windows. It seems to me that it should be easier to shop downtown,
but, in reality, for me it is easier to shop in Roseville.
Scott McGerik
Hawthorne
Minneapolis
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.visi.com/~scottlm/
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