Why do people think downtown is going under?
Second part of statement at the Salt Lake Planning Commission…
We have a downtown plan. It emphasizes and prioritizes Main Street and State Street as our important urban core. That plan is working. High rise buildings cluster along Main and State and provide density that support transit and open spaces. Outside othe core, in the intended “support” areas that are created by the D4 zone, 35 new projects were built just in the area of the entertainment zone. 25 of them in the past 5 years. The downtown population has doubled and will soon double again. Streets are full of people. Lots of restaurants and clubs rock the night scene.. ….so why do some people have such doom and gloom?
I was mystified, until I heard a couple of people talk about “the way downtown is going” and “safety and security.” THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT HOMELESS PEOPLE – neglected and rejected. I think the Delta Center itself may contribute to this perception of downtown, as it draws a large number of people who come downtown for no other reason than sports.
Thought experiment: A guy from West Jordan pays $600 for basketball tickets for his family, drives into downtown during rush hour traffic, has a difficult time finding a parking space, passes by a homeless person on the sidewalk, pays 20$ each for a hot dog meal inside the arena, then rushes his family back to the parking space, meanwhile trying to have his kids avoid looking at the guy who might be a girl with platform shoes purple hair and a nose ring. Following a post game traffic jam, the Family returns to West Jordan and badmouths downtown Salt Lake for the next year.
And that family is not really contributing to the revitalization or the activation or going to a club with dicey and diverse people or a restaurant that feels like dressing up. Actually, I feel sorry for the downtown business people especially restaurant and bar owners. I feel sorry for the merchants. This high glitz place will suck the air out of all the entertainment businesses, especially the locally owned ones. Far from benefitting, they will die. Just like Gateway, just like Crossroads Mall. Adding several hundred thousand square feet of merch, food and beverage INSIDE the Delta Center contributes absolutely nothing to the community or to local activation.
Discover more from The Right Place
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
