Or, a rough outline of a plan to revitalize Ypsilanti using the current buzz around downtown restaurants as a springboard. People KNOW about coming to Ypsi for great food (and we mean GREAT food) but HOW to capitalize and revitalize downtown business district.
A few highlights and suggestions from the meeting which drew over 100 citizens last night at the Riverside Arts Center:
*Work with DTE to keep downtown well lit to improve safety.
*Conduct one on one business retention meetings with existing businesses
*Encourage more evening business hours.
*Encourage restaurants to go with maximum outdoor seating
*Enhance downtown online presence (Johnny stands ready to do his part here)
*Install signs to guide visitors.
Some basic ideas here that we think work quite well. Of course there were others as showing off our best side and drawing in new talent is hard work but as always, Ypsilanti will prevail. The artists and restaurants are here now, and in just about ever other city studied once the artists and restaurants are up and running, the city itself is only 3-5 years behind in economic recovery of some kind.
Remember, don't YOU be afraid to stand up and tell people great things are happening here. Yes some things still suck, every town has those issues, but if we attack which sucks in a postive manner, we can unsuck those things over time. Case and point, when Johnny moved to Ypsi in January of 1983, Depot Town sucked. BIG. Now look. It's a shining jewel in our city crown. It didn't take 10 years or 15 years to fix, it took about 5.
And we'll do the same with the city proper. Hats off to the attendees last night for all your energy!
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4 comments:
One might add tone-down the demonstrators that used to pickett (maybe they still do) near the library on Saturday a.m. throwing pictures into your children's faces of aborted fetuses.
Regardless of one's beliefs on this issue, word got around, at least in my circle of friends, that downtown Ypsi is not the family place to go. Nobody's going to go down there with that kind of crap going on - with or without children.
Funny how all of these expensive studies never state the obvious.
Good point glimmertwinfan. As a city it holds as true as it does for a person, you don't get a second chance to create a first impression
The anti-abortion terrorists left town when their targeted doctor closed his Ypsilanti satellite office on S Washington last year in late fall.
Thanks anonymous, I did not like those people. Waaaaaay too CONFRONTATIONAL. Free speech is free speech but you don't have a right to jam it in my face by swinging a placard on a stick at me.
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