Downtown Dayton

I’ve lived in Downtown Dayton for almost five and a half years, and since then I’ve seen a number of ups and downs here in the urban core.   Back in 2003 the city was full of buzz as Fifth Third Field, Riverscape and the Schuster Performing Arts Center were fairly new and downtown housing seemed to be gaining momentum.  Shortly afterwards, downtown development slowed to a crawl.  My faith in this city has gone up and down like a roller coaster, and I’ve often questioned whether or not the urban core of Dayton would ever realize the enormous potential I’ve always seen. However, this has not stopped my continued involvement in various initiatives to make things better, and the latest effort I’m involved with has given a boost to my faith in the future of Downtown Dayton.

The “Greater Downtown Dayton Plan” is a very ambitious initiative that was started by Dr. Mike Ervin last year.  Mike has managed to bring together many of the city’s most prominent business leaders, institutional leaders and government leaders in an effort to completely transform Downtown Dayton in a way this city has never seen before.  Ego’s, politics and turf-protection have been set aside in favor of a sense of urgency and a desire to do what is best for the urban core.  And while government leaders play an important part in the plan (as they should), they are not the ones driving it – a fact that should give pause to naysayers who have lost faith in our city government’s ability to put Dayton back on the path to prosperity.  This is truly a collaborative effort between the private and public sector.  Stay tuned on how this progresses…

I have no question that the city has folks that are truly dedicated to the prosperity and growth of the downtown core – I know most of them personally.  But by ourselves it is a steep hill to climb.  That hill is made steeper by the too-common apathy towards the city that can be found in the rest of the region.  That is not to say that there aren’t suburbanites who are champions for the city (I happen to know many of them as well), but they are far and few between.  The disconnect between the suburbs and the city has a history that goes back to long before I moved here in 2001 and likely goes back to before I was born – it started with what has become known as the Great White Flight.  An entire generation exists here that can only remember downtown the way it “used to be”, and it is followed by an entire generation that has no connection at all to downtown – probably because they grew up surrounded by an anti-city attitude from their parents.  It is thus of little surprise that many downtown advocates I know are from other cities – myself included.

There are many other reasons for the disconnect between suburbanites and the urban core.  This region has a strong conservative culture that does not tend to value an urban culture; the word “urban” itself has a “different from us” meaning in many ways including racial and socio-economic.  The city has the highest concentration of poverty in the region – a reason for upward-mobile people to stay away even though there is a small concentration of affluent folks who live in downtown.  The public school system is obviously struggling.  There is a very common belief throughout the region that there is a serious lack of leadership in the city, whether it is because of misplaced priorities or simply incompetence.   And with the younger generation, it seems that the appreciation of this city’s history and heritage is almost non-existent.

Not all is lost, since a big problem I’ve always seen is a simple lack of information.  Suburbanites that do not spend much time in the city often have no idea what is happening in the city that might appeal to them.  Better marketing and outreach could go a long way in solving that, especially with some help with the media who have traditionally been seen as an enemy to the urban core with their constant barrage of negative news centered around crime.  But perhaps there is something even more important than better marketing or media coverage, and that is by simply getting our grassroots story told.  People love the underdog story, especially when it includes very dedicated people that everybody can identify with.  I hope to continue telling that story here on DMM, and possibly via more traditional media formats.  And just like with the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan – stay tuned…

 

Some great ideas have been generated from the DMM forum discussion about the proposed Dayton streetcar project and we wanted to summarize the discussions for those who want a brief overview.  Please keep the ideas flowing on the forum… we will update these posts with the new ideas on a regular basis.

A lot of debate has ensued as to whether or not a street car system should be a priority in the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan. The streetcar system being proposed would initially connect University of Dayton and Brown Street to the Central Business District.  An overview of the plan appeared in a September, 2008 DDN article.  Following are excerpts from that article:

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The co-chair of a task force seeking to establish a streetcar loop between downtown Dayton and the University of Dayton area remains optimistic despite a consultant’s study that set a high price tag for the project.

Last year, Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority officials estimated the 4-mile loop could be built for about $40 million and would cost about $700,000 a year to run.

Consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff looked at other streetcar systems and estimated the system would cost $125 million to build and $2 million a year to operate.

Mike Ervin, who co-chairs the streetcar task force with GDRTA Executive Director Mark Donaghy, said the consultant’s study is important in that it gives streetcar proponents a clear picture of the challenge they face.

Ervin said where streetcar lines have gone in, a sense of excitement and renewal has followed. Retail, restaurant and entertainment venues tend to spring up close to the tracks, which in turn stimulates investment in other properties.

Ervin said streetcars can make living in an urban center more attractive because people can hop on and off a streetcar to get around. That reduces the need for cars and parking.

“Think of what it could mean to an area like South Park,” Ervin said. “For Dayton, this could be one of the biggest economic boosts the city has had ever.”

The headways (wait time between trains) would be 10 minutes.

The city put this project in the list of top 15 projects for Dayton that was presented in Washington, DC for consideration in the economic stimulous package.

Some concerns that were noted on the forum include the following:

• Streetcars should be a practical alternative to certain bus routes or should fill a need for transportation that buses can’t.  If it is more focused on tourism, people may only ride it once.
• Our downtown is really small and walkable… that money could be better used elsewhere.
• It seems redundant when we have an adequate public transportation system in place already
• The idea of using it as an economic development driver for downtown would be not as effective as generally using the money to promote more residential developments downtown
• We need to have a critical mass of people downtown to warrant a streetcar system, and that does not yet exist.

Supporters had the following to say:

• New cost estimates are being determined and the initial cost assessment for the initial route is $48 million
• The proposed plan would be the first route – continuing with the plan to include connecting WPAFB and WSU would really make it a valuable proposition.  Connecting Sinclair to the initial route would also make a lot of sense.
• A street car from Brown Street to Downtown is a lot more simple than navigating the bus system and would be more frequently used by students and others
• Cities such as Portland Oregon have seen significant residential and retail development around street car stations.  The proposal is more about economic development than moving people.
• Urban decline is directly linked to cities abandoning their streetcars for the automobile.  Rebuilding the streetcar systems likely would reinvigorate urban development.
• The green/environmental aspects of a street car should also be considered, as well as the impact on parking

It was noted that rail connecting Dayton, Cinci and Columbus would be very beneficial too.   Some conversation ensued about the 3-C passenger rail proposals.  It was noted that the cost for this is $20 million per mile vs. $10 million per mile for light rail/street cars.  The construction process for some streetcar projects have been designed to minimize disruption to street businesses by completing a city block of tracks each week.

Some conversation ensued about using electric buses with a street car look (but not requiring tracks) gained some traction as an alternative as well.

Some great ideas have been generated from the DMM forum and we wanted to summarize the discussions for those who want a brief overview.  Please keep the ideas flowing on the forum… we will update these posts with the new ideas on a regular basis.

Suggested Improvements:

1. Have garages contract with businesses for parking instead of downtown workers
   • Pre-tax payroll deductions benefit the workers
   • Reduced overhead for garage owners (payment collections and sales efforts)
2. More readily available information regarding parking garage vacancies
   • Enhance the EasyParkDowntown website with # of spots available for monthly parking per garage
   • Improve the EasyParkDowntown user interface
   • Create and pass out brochures regarding parking options during major events
3. Create a parking pass system that can be used a meters to make it easier for people to park or a single permit system that could be used at all garages.
4. Work with condos/apartments that don’t have on-site parking to buy blocks of parking for residents (i.e. Eva Feldman)
5. Create new, consistent signage for parking garages throughout the city to facilitate finding parking more easily when you are in your car.  It was noted that this idea was initially discussed in 2004 but did not come to fruition.  A link to Fort Worth parking signage was posted.  Make sure it is obvious which garages are public vs. private
6. Make the parking garages cool and attractive – colorful/neon lighting, music piped in, public art dressing the walls (or even graffiti art) similar to the “Parking is Fun” garage in Memphis, TN.  Lots of links to examples included and discussion regarding promoting graffiti art in public spaces.
7. Put roof-top bar or something on top of the transportation garage because of the beautiful views from up there.
8. Add angled parking to the streets instead of parallel parking.  Discussion ensued regarding safety and the fact that our streets are wide enough to accommodate.

Imagine our Oregon District if it looked like this on the weekends:

Photos:  Winterthur, Switzerland, Copenhagen, Denmark, Vancouver, BC – Canada

Across the country cities are figuring out what has already been succeeding in cities across the world for some time now – closing downtown streets to automobile traffic – either temporarily or permanently.  Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada is known as one of these uber-progressive cities that have organized "Car-Free Days" on various streets in and around their downtown.  The following video from Streetfilms.org does a good job at showing just how well this concept is being received:

And this brings me to Dayton – specifically Fifth Street in the Oregon District.  Ever since I moved here I’ve always thought that Fifth Street should be closed to automobile traffic at least on the weekends.  I can envision a Fifth Street packed with pedestrians, street performers, street vendors & even dining room extensions from Cafe Boulevard, Pacchia & Trolley Stop.  And just imagine an outdoor stage on what is now the parking lot at Fifth and Pine – with local bands entertaining crowds of people strolling along Fifth Street.  It isn’t that hard to imagine all of this, afterall – Fifth Street IS closed one night a year for the Oregon District HauntFest in October.

Obstacles to this idea are typical traffic engineer small-mindedness that insists that Fifth Street is a major throughway, though Fourth Street can handle additional traffic very easily.  Others may say that people like to "cruise" Fifth Street, but folks – it is 2008, not 1955.  Finally, there is the ongoing issue of parking – but if you click on the map below you will see that my proposition would only take away the handful of street parking spots that currently exist on Fifth Street.

 

So what do you think?  What other obstacles do you see to this idea?  And do you think that city leadership could be convinced to explore this kind of thing?

Feel free to comment below, or join the conversation in our DMM Forum!

Last week on our DMM Forum, I did a quick post about an economic development project happening in Cleveland (and covered by Smart City Radio), and compared it to one economic development project happening in Dayton.  After a few received comments and much thought afterward, I decided to go a bit more in depth on the topic and post it here for those who may still read this blog but aren’t yet involved on the forum.  Besides, it was time for a new post since I’ve been completely absent here for a long time now…

On a recent SmartCity Radio show, Carol Coletta interviewed Ned Hill – VP of Economic Development at Cleveland State University.  “He’s combining the Cleveland area’s history, talent and expertise” to create the District of Design. This district would take a concentrated area of downtown Cleveland and transform it into the industrial design capital of the U.S.” …

First, I encourage you to listen to the program:

In my opinion, this is what true economic development is all about – taking a city’s existing strength and expanding it by using a cluster strategy, partnerships between city government/business sector/universities, and community building.  Unlike fad developments, as Mr. Hill explains, this District of Design makes sense because it “connects to the balance sheet” (ie generates revenue).  It is ultimately something that will attract more businesses, create more jobs, and grow a “creative class” group of designers based in a part of Downtown Cleveland.  And the residual effect is that it brings more life to downtown in the form of more workers – which will ultimately attract more retail and restaurant/bar business.  This is economic development – which Mr. Hill eloquently defines as “the art of connecting the dots that nobody else see’s”.

Dayton is also working on such a district – called Tech Town – but it is moving at a snail’s pace and seems to be more about real estate than about actually nurturing a business sector.  Sure, there is the technology business incubator (The Entrepreneur Center) that is there now, but I don’t see its connection to Tech Town other than simply being its first tenant.  Tech Town looks more like a “build it and they will come” real estate proposition.  Of course, in the past year the City of Dayton seems to have had its focus not so much on Tech Town as much as the “future”‘ Ballpark Village – which brings me to the main point of this post…

First, let me say that I’ve had mixed feelings about BPV from the start.  I started out excited about this when it was first announced.  Since I live two blocks away I wanted to see this happen – it would be great to have a whole new riverfront destination to walk to from my condo, and it will be nice to see more crowds of people coming downtown.  Then again, I do not want to see another generic “lifestyle center” ala The Greene with a bunch of boring chain restaurants that will simply poach customers from our existing independent businesses.  And now there isn’t even a developer, which makes one wonder if there is actually a market for yet another retail & restaurant cluster in this region.  But even more important than all of that is the fact that the city is treating BPV as if it were an economic development project.  And while I’m not the first blogger to claim this, I am here to say that BPV is NOT economic development.

BPV is first a real estate project (just like Tech Town), and secondly it is a consumerism project.  Consumerism in that it simply offers another venue for consumers to spend money – not a project that city government should be initiating.  It will not create jobs other than low-paying service jobs.  It will not enhance any existing businesses (other than maybe the Dayton Dragons but as they’re still selling out games what help do they need?).  And ultimately it does nothing to “connect to the balance sheet” or “connect the dots”.  Sure, IF the consumers do show up then there is tax revenue to realize – which I imagine is what the city is looking to score.  But other than additional tax revenue that might not even make up for the amount of money the city is spending on property acquisitions and whatever tax subsidies it will have to offer in order to attract a developer and tenants, what exactly is BPV going to do in terms of economic development?

This city and region are losing jobs by the thousands these days.  Our local economy is in the crapper.  Do we really need another consumer-based development?  Hell, with more and more people losing jobs and the cost of fuel and food rising to catastrophic levels, can the region even support the restaurants and retail we have now, let alone support a whole slew of new ones?  No, as much as I’d personally like to see BPV happen so that I have a new place to walk to and spend my money, I can’t say that this will be good for the city or the region in the grander scheme of things.

Instead of trying to be land developers, the city should be working on ways to help support and grow the businesses and industry we have here now.  Tech Town is a good place to start since it is already underway – instead of relying on the “build it and they will come” strategy that seems to be in place now, focus on fostering the partnerships between government, business and universities that will help to create a true cluster.  Make this much more than a real estate proposition and Tech Town may just succeed.  Focus on the other areas of downtown instead of ignoring them like is happening now (how many empty buildings do we currently have?).  Work with area developers on ways to not only rehab and reuse our existing building stock, but also put real plans in place that will actually encourage development.  Residential is a good place to start, but even that must be part of a bigger plan.

Ballpark Village is not the type of development the city should be trying to accomplish.  Listen to the story about the Cleveland District of Design and you’ll get a better sense of what a true economic development project looks like.

I’ve posted this on the DMM Forum – if you wish to comment on this then sign up and get involved in the conversation there.

What if federal, state and county governments were to end the cycle of sprawl by coming up with a system that is more fair… one that charges appropriate impact fees to developers who choose to tear down trees and build new housing developments that require more roads and infrastructure.  Perhaps some of those fees could go to rewarding developers who choose to undertake the often more expensive and challenging task of rehabbing current building stock in older and more established urban (and closer-in suburb) neighborhoods and districts that already have existing infrastructure in place.  This might provide a more level playing field between struggling city neighborhoods and the endless sprawl that continues to suck life out of our urban core.

The following is an article from the Boston Globe that we found on Richard Florida’s blog (who found it on The Economist’s View blog).

What do you think?

[Read more…] about A Level Playing Field

Last night the Creative Region Initiative was officially kicked off as the organizers of the project and the 32 chosen catalysts met one another at the Westcott House in Springfield.  There was quite an energy in the room – we have some great people in the group and it is possibly the most diverse group of people I’ve ever been involved with in my life.  There is also the sense that this ambitious and unique effort is very different from any other community-based project ever executed in the past.  I believe there is a ton of potential to do some projects that have a huge impact on our community and will hopefully inspire even more spin-off projects in the future and beyond.

[Read more…] about Creative Region Initiative Officially Kicks Off

Ok, this is actually an extended ad for BMW, but it is interestingly tied to Richard Florida’s Creative Class theory.  And while it is simply an ad for BMW, I believe it communicates the definition of the Creative Class in a very well done and well produced video.  Now I realize that this probably took a ton of money to produce, but imagine if Dayton could have some marketing like this!  THIS is what it means to be creative – watch it and tell us what you think… (click on the pic)

 

I had been meaning to write about this for some time now, and this recent article from the Columbus Dispatch inspired me to do it now (insert the name Dayton wherever you see the word Columbus):

Poll: Some don’t link ‘burbs, city
Sunday,  December 9, 2007 3:28 AM
By Darrel Rowland, Alan Johnson and Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

If the core of Columbus and other Ohio cities fail, the problems they’re experiencing will spread to the surrounding suburbs, exurbs and townships, experts warn.

If the core of Columbus and other Ohio cities fail, the problems they’re experiencing will spread to the surrounding suburbs, exurbs and townships, experts warn.

As many as 30,000 central Ohio residents might consider living Downtown, poll results showed. Such "urban pioneers" would help fuel a revival Downtown, attracting stores, restaurants and entertainment to the city’s core, one expert says.

Only about a third of the people who live around Columbus agree that a "strong link" exists between the health of the city and the health of the rest of the central Ohio region, poll results show.

Experts say Ohio’s big cities will never get turned around until people who live in the surrounding suburbs and exurbs realize their areas’ fates are linked to the health of the core city.

Without that understanding, the "why-should-I-care" attitude will not only thwart the cities’ comebacks, but will contribute to a spread of urban problems into the very areas people fled to escape them.

But only about a third of the people who live in the areas surrounding Columbus buy into this concept, judging from a poll by Saperstein Associates. That portion agrees a "strong link" exists between the health of the city and the health of the rest of central Ohio. Another 36 percent see "somewhat of a link."

[Read more…] about The Great Dayton Disconnect

Ok, we’ve now all heard about the Smart Decline initiatives being implemented in Youngstown, Ohio and being considered (?) in Dayton.  Here is another great idea from the king of struggling American cities – Flint, MI…

[Read more…] about Another Smart Decline Idea for Dayton

I often hear about the inferiority complex that we have here in Dayton.  Of all the places I’ve lived in, Dayton’s complex is certainly one of the most noticable – but I’ve never lived in or been to a city that DID NOT have an inferiority complex.  I suppose it is human nature to think that the grass is always greener on the other side.  Here are some cities I’ve lived in and their inferiority complexes:

[Read more…] about “I wish we were more like…”

In a previous post we discussed the negative spin our local media seems to have when it comes to the City of Dayton.  And if you’ve ever heard our schpeel or read our About Us, you know that the reason we started this website was to give people an alternative view of our city that they don’t necessarily get with local news.  We are not an official media source, but simply proud citizens that decided to tell the world how WE see our city.  We realize that our city continues to face huge challenges, but we believe those challenges can be overcome.  Sure, it will take a significant amount of financial resources that these days seems to be quite scarce, but by helping to instill a sense of Dayton city pride – both within the city as well as the overall region – it can be done.  With the right message, anything is possible…  Take a look at what Youngstown is doing:
 

[Read more…] about If Youngstown can do it…