As the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to wreak havoc on Dayton’s small businesses, the Downtown Dayton Partnership and the City of Dayton announce a new strategy aimed at increasing potential for sales of downtown’s collection of local restaurants, pubs, retailers, and other downtown businesses. Starting today, Dec. 17, customers can access Pick-up Zones: free, temporary parking spaces specifically for carry-out, curbside pickup, and delivery drivers retrieving orders.
“This pandemic already decreased indoor capacity for our restaurants and retailers, and with the colder months ahead of us, we wanted to make sure we were using every opportunity to help these businesses earn revenue,” said DDP President Sandra Gudorf.
There are currently 18 temporary, on-street Pick-up Zones located near businesses whose customers would benefit from the visibility and convenience of these designated zones. The Pick-up Zones are located in on-street spaces currently designated as loading zones or metered parking. The Zones will be marked with the highly visible, green-branded signage. Vehicles with their flashers on will be permitted to park at no cost for up to 10 minutes within the zone.
“We’ve seen a drop in sales since office workers haven’t been coming downtown,” said Whitney Wedding, owner of Winans Chocolates + Coffee, 221 N. Patterson Blvd. “The new Pick-up Zone will make it quick and easy for customers to grab a latte, chocolates, or holiday gifts. It also is more practical for our curbside pick-up orders for those who are unable to come inside the shop.”
Pick-up Zones will also be a boon for retail businesses, as well. “For those who don’t take advantage of our free delivery service, our customers only need very short trips to our shop, either to drop off their dry cleaning and laundry items or pick up their fresh, pressed orders,” said Vanessa Lloyd, owner of A+ Cleaners at 105 E. Second St. “The new Pick-up Zones will allow us to serve our customers quickly and conveniently.”
The temporary Pick-up Zones will be in place until April 30, 2021. “It is our hope that initiatives like this will be enough to sustain our small business through the next couple of months, until the widespread availability of a vaccine or warmer weather enables more people to patronize their favorite downtown restaurants and pubs,” Gudorf said.
For those businesses without a dedicated parking area, Pick-up Zones will offer a new, convenient option for customers. Nearly all downtown restaurants and retailers offer pick-up, carryout, and/or delivery options. To see the latest list of businesses that are open and what services are provided, visit DowntownDayton.org/Open.
