Rick Marquez, the new DLI director, said his group is preparing to ask the downtown community to engage in creating a long-range plan that addresses how the business district will look, feel and function.
The effort, which likely won’t start until merchants are done with the busy holiday shopping season, could involve a committee of five to seven stakeholders and a series of public meetings to get input.
Exactly what issues the plan would address won’t be determined until the process begins. But Marquez said there are several obvious issues, including:
¢ The optimal mix of retail, entertainment and residential uses in downtown.
¢ The role that large special events should play in attracting people to downtown.
¢ Where and what type of new parking structures should be placed in the area.
¢ Perceptions that public safety in the area is on the decline.
¢ Whether the actual footprint of downtown needs to be expanded.
Read more about the future of downtown

Moderator

Good afternoon and welcome to our online chat with Rick Marquez, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc. I’m Dennis Anderson, managing editor of the Lawrence Journal-World. I will be moderating today’s chat. Welcome, Rick.

Rick Marquez

Thank you for inviting me Dennis, I am looking forward to discussing the Downtown issues with the readers.

Moderator

Here comes the first question.

Raider

Rick,

What are the chances that Mass. Street between 7th and 11th would ever be “bricked over” to creat a pedestrian mall like other cities have done with their downtown areas?

Thanks!

Rick Marquez

Doing this would completely change the character of Mass Street for a very long time. Any change like this would take a very careful and well thought out process to determine if it would make a lasting positive change. There are many different groups that would need to be involved in something like this.

ThomasJefferson

What do you think about establishing a revolving loan or grant program to restore downtown storefronts to their former glory.

Rick Marquez

We have talked with some of our partners with the City about a program like this and there might be a vehicle available to get something like this started. Our discussions are in the very opening stages right now, but being able to assist with the restoration of the storefronts is something that is on our list.

T_F

Have you considered limiting Mass St to foot traffic only?

Rick Marquez

Closing the street to vehicle traffic would be an extreme change. I would want to get input from communities where this has occured in order to determine whether or not it provided a positive change.

mseybold

Why build new parking structures when the current one at 9th and New Hampshire is never full? Have we really utilized our current parking spaces?

Rick Marquez

Determining what type of parking is needed will be one of the goals we have when we begin work on our plan early next year. We would want to decide if we have the correct number of spaces, if they are in the correct location, and how to properly notify the shoppers of them.

cantheman

I was wondering if Lawrence ever thought of having a Lawrence independent buisness association, where hometown business would be owned by people who live in and around Lawrence. This would more or less keep Starbucks, Gap, and Abercrombie out of downtown and places like Weavers, Cottins and Sunflower in Lawrence. The only reason I ask is because I use to live in Boulder, Colo., and they had an independent association that seemed to work out real nice for everybody in the town.

Rick Marquez

We currently have a nice mix of local, regional, and national businesses in town. All of them do their part to entice shoppers to the area. DLI membership is open to any business in the Downtown area and the organization is happy to have some of those national retailers as members.

sunflower97

Does Lawrence Downtown have a retail merchandising and mix strategy, and if so, is compliance voluntary or mandatory? I’m referring to the way malls set themselves up by clustering compatible type businesses together. This would be a way to help maintain the optimal mix of downtown uses.

Rick Marquez

No we do not. We will be looking at overall retail mix while we work on our plan next year, but we do not get involved in the merchandise planning of the individual shops.

Quigebo

Rick, has any consideration been given to transforming a portion of downtown into a pedestrian mall similar to what has been done so successfully in many other progressive communities. I have heard it mentioned many times during conversations in the context of “wouldn’t it be awesome if Lawrence…” by people who had recently had a wonderful experience elsewhere. Many feel that a pedestrian mall would truly make downtown a unique, vibrant destination.

Rick Marquez

Some people like the idea of a pedestrian mall and others like the idea of vehicle traffic and parking in front of the shops. I think that there is mixed reviews from the communities that have pedestrianized their downtowns and Main Streets.

Raider

Rick,

In a prior article I got the impression that you will actively recruit businesses to downtown. If a person has a business idea, can they come to you for guidance? Also, does the city provide any tax abatements or other incentives for small business owners?

How can someone contact you?

Thanks!

Rick Marquez

Yes, we are going to be recruiting after we have an idea of the direction we should go.You can come to me at DLI. We are working with Will Katz at the Small Business Development Center to assist people that might want to open a business in Downtown Lawrence. You can contact me at 842-3883 or director@downtownlawrence.com..

jennifermarti

What are your plans to increase the safety of downtown patrons? I am talking about the homeless begging and harrassing downtown patrons to the point people no longer want to shop downtown. I would say this is the biggest problem downtown faces!

Rick Marquez

We will continue to stay involved in the discussions to examine public safety. We also have 2 of our members serving on the Community Commission on Homelessness and the Community Cooperation Committee. We will also look at this issue during our planning process next year.

Moderator

Thank you, Rick, for stopping by and answering our readers’ questions.

Rick Marquez

Thank you for the opportunity Dennis.