However the access issue requires often building front of the building parking lots which in no way fit in with the urban structure we're trying to achieve. Plus most of us know of many small businesses that have closed over the years because they are priced out by the big chains.
The ones that survive like Quality Coaches and Ace Hardware do so because of the service angle. It is hard for me to believe that folks who don't live in the city and who are going to work at Wells Fargo and Allina are going to change their shopping patterns and shop in the city. Just like I don't go out to the suburbs to shop unless I can't find it here.
People however will come here when you have an Uptown or a Linden Hills which is quaint, small and fun. But widening Lake Street doesn't add to the quaint, pedestrian oriented atmosphere that would make people want to come and shop for stuff they can probably find in the suburbs.
The bottom line here is that all the business community ever wanted was access on the north side of Lake Street. The fly-over is an attempt to beam workers into the mother ship. For about a fourth of the cost of the flyover you could landscape the heck out of the neighborhood, provide some economic development money for Lake Street and achieve a far better result...improving the neighborhood and making the drive in pleasant.
The fly-over is old, suburban style thinking. Anyone who follows new urban thought knows many cities are rethinking freeway expansion through cities and in cases like Milwaukee and LA taking down freeways and flyovers that intersect the inner city. I can't help but think that Mr. Netwal's thinking takes a page directly from the MCDA analysis of city shopping areas (published about two years ago) which only had the suburban success model perspective. That report never analyzed or recognized the uniquely urban model lwhich many of our small business intersections have been quite successful at (without freeway access I might add.)
Lisa McDonald
East Harriet
----- Original Message -----From: Earl NetwalSent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 10:39 AMTo: Mpls@Mnforum. OrgSubject: [Mpls] It's not traffic, that matters, it's accessChanges in traffic flow definitely does have an affect on the viability of
many different types of businesses, although not all. But, why that is so,
seems to have eluded some posters to the list. The most obvious of course is
the following: Heavy traffic especially during peak periods like rush hours
is at best a mixed advantage. The gains come from the increased visibility
a store or enterprise receives. Its presence is in effect a billboard for
its business. The more cars passing, the more eyes that see that the store
exists. Better than a billboard, this type of advertising not only lets
potential customers know a store exists, but concretely where it is, and
demonstrably indicates that it is within the range and or access of the
passerby. Rush hours are busier for many types of stores as many more people
are out and about, and for those who know that XYZ is on 38th or whatever,
they can plan to stop in the AM or PM to or from work. The negative is that
it is harder to find parking during the rush hour, as others are seeking the
same available parking while some otherwise available parking may be
unavailable as a result of rush hour parking restrictions. For most
businesses, customers have to first know of their existence, then their
location, and then have access before the customer gets a chance to see
their goods and services to make a buying decision. Increasing visibility
leads to more people seeking access, this in turn leads to more people
though the front door, and the merchant hopes more people willing to buy.
But traffic by itself is not the entire story. Ease of access is. And this
is where the Lake Street 35W interchange makes the most sense from an
economic development perspective. Ease on and off a freeway are critical
factors for most people most of the time. A side trip to or from work or
whatever mission the driver may be on is feasible if the person can pull off
35W hit a destination somewhere on or near Lake street and then quickly and
easily continue their trip to their primary destination. The value of this
quick on off concept should be easy for most anyone to understand.
Access can be viewed like a watershed. Different stores and businesses have
varied pulling radiuses or watersheds. A community level grocery store may
draw people from an entire neighborhood or more, while a convenience grocery
may pull from a much smaller area. If one lives in Austin and wants to see a
Twin's game live, they will travel a long distances to see a game, while
others much closer may choose to never see a game ever. The distance a
customer is willing to travel to a business is frequently measured in miles
and often represented by a nice circle drawn on a map indicating the
businesses' draw area. These draw area circles are more accurately drawn not
in terms of miles a person is willing to drive to get to a store, but rather
the minutes a person is willing to drive to get to a store. Better access
at Lake will push out the draw area radius for every business located on
Lake street to the extent it makes access to their location more efficient.
By pushing out the drawing radius, it increases the total number of
perspective customers. The business will still need to lure them in, but
opportunity exists where it might not have otherwise.
Finally, Lake street is a old-fashioned shopping center, without structured
parking, without a Mall Santa, or a co-op advertising budget. As such it is
hardly unique, but the mix of goods and services available on the Lake
street corridor is. Lake Street businesses will attract buyers from well
beyond the city limits if they can come and go quickly and easily. As
exposure builds, more and more opportunities to do additional business will
occur to the visitor as they travel up and down the street, building
increased economic health for the area over time. The speed at which
economic development occurs will depend in part on what the Lake street
community does to invite people to the area, but the infrastructure
component is the essential initial ingredient.
Earl Netwal
Nokomis Village, but with extensive practical experience along Lake and
Nicollet, a long time student of economic factors affecting the city and its
peoples.
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