Transportation officials across the country have been on a mission to both encourage cycling and to make bike lanes safer. The safety challenge is clear: The default cycling path in many places is simply a designated bike lane separated from traffic by paint on pavement. But creating physical separation between sometimes-distracted drivers and vulnerable cyclists…To read more — login/subscribe
Volunteers provide a powerful economic benefit to communities across the nation. For downtown organizations, developing a professional team of volunteers for everything from serving on the board of directors, to updating the organization’s databases, to blowing up balloons can multiply the impact of paid staff. To run a successful volunteer program, the Michigan Main Street…To read more — login/subscribe
In an effort to bring shoppers downtown and compete with nearby areas, a Canadian improvement district dusted off a classic downtown retail promotion and added some aggressive marketing techniques. The Glebe Spree, hosted by the Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA) of Ottawa, ON, Canada, is a program that runs from November 15 through December 31.…To read more — login/subscribe
An apartment developer hopes to prove that Americans are ready to embrace car-free living. Culdesac Tempe is a new 636-unit rental community in Tempe, AZ. When the project opens for occupancy this year, residents won’t be allowed to bring vehicles with them. “The vision of Culdesac is to build the first car-free city in the…To read more — login/subscribe
The Hollywood Partnership is a nonprofit business improvement district that provides a variety of services to businesses along the famous Hollywood Boulevard. In 2022, the BID took a creative step: It launched Hollywood Partnership Ventures, a 501(c)(3) organization doing business as Hollywood Partnership Community Trust. The Community Trust spinoff was a response to financial reality…To read more — login/subscribe
Consulting firms Freese & Nichols and MetroQuest offer the following tips for getting the most useful responses from online public engagement efforts: • Know your objectives. Understand what data elected officials need. • Remember that humans are visual creatures. Find ways to communicate via images instead of words. • Take pains to avoid bias in…To read more — login/subscribe
Digital signs approved for downtown Large-format digital billboards were on display in downtown Baltimore, MD, in December. The signs showcase local businesses, organizations, artwork, and events. The Downtown Partnership says thatanother nine billboards will be added in 2024. The billboards are in the newly created North Harbor Area of Special Sign Control, which is located…To read more — login/subscribe
In Lethbridge, Alberta (est. pop. 106,000), downtown leaders are keeping streets clean and engaging the city’s unhoused population. The Clean Sweep Program pays homeless people $15 an hour to perform clean and safe work. Their tasks include trash pickup, snow removal, and disposing of needles, pipes, and other paraphernalia from downtown’s designated area for drug…To read more — login/subscribe
The age-old parking practice of using chalk to mark the tires of parked cars faces legal scrutiny - and it just might be unconstitutional. A federal appellate court has sided with a motorist who sued Saginaw, MI (est. pop. 49,366), for violating her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search. The motorist, Alison Taylor, sued after…To read more — login/subscribe
