HRSR INFORMATION 08-27-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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too z o zoos INFORMATION • MEMORANDUM TO: Pat Klaers, Catherine Mehelich and Michele McPherson (Copies to be sent to all Council, EDA and HRA members, please) FROM: Paul Motin DATE: August 16, 2001 RE: Pedestrian Mall - Counterpoint? Attached is a copy of an article I had read in the Readers Digest(February 2001). I had mentioned at a recent meeting (though I can't remember if it was at a Council, EDA or HRA meeting)that I had read an article not quite so positive about the pedestrian mall concept. No one seemed to have had seen any articles which discussed the viability of the pedestrian mall concept. I ask that a copy of the article and this memo be sent to each Council, EDA and HRA member. The Readers Digest article (on the third page) shows just one example of when such a concept 1111 wasn't viable. I know there are others (I used to live near Golf Mill Shopping Center, in Niles, Illinois. That mall had been created as an outdoor shopping center(you had to go outside from one shop to then enter another)with lots of parking. As big box retailers became more common in the area, Golf Mill basically died. It was only after the Mall completely encapsulated itself to become an indoor shopping mall that business returned). It is not that I oppose the pedestrian mall concept(I very much liked what I saw in the concept brought before the HRA relating to the redevelopment of the Nadeaus through Tony Mikols' building area-- it may be large enough to make it viable,though I question whether a smaller project would be). It's just that we (Council, HRA and EDA)keep receiving articles in our packets showing how just about every other city wants to create a"downtown"and how"great"they supposedly are. I think it's very important for us to have all the information(both pros and cons) in order to make a decision. Staff, whether intentionally or not, seems to only provide us with the pros. •