Tomorrow night, Jan 28, the new director of Comm Devt (she's damned impressive; don't believe the usual carping over at always-good-for-the-cheap-shot TwistedTanners (sorry, TT, your commentship is pretty lame) until you check her out for yourselves) has been invited to talk about the update to the zoning ordinance that has languished several years in City Council committees. (fyi: if you are just now joining the party, the CC doesn't have much of a track record in proactive legislation; they prefer to shoot down other people's ideas rather than standing behind and enacting any of their own. Naysaying being easier than doing real work, as so many bloggers know...)I don't know what the substance is of the proposed zoning for downtown Peabody. I don't see a lot of chat about zoning substance on Peabody blogs. Here's what this downtowner would be looking for:
- Will the zoning create lively, attractive, exciting streets, with commercial land uses that generate pedestrian traffic and SALES?
- Will it be possible to create streets that are pleasant to walk along, instead of 4-lane "car sewers" that are just carrying through traffic to Salem and M'head? (oh, hi, GP, didn't see you there!)
Tell me why, in these economic "tough times," the downtowns of Salem and Beverly (for example) are chock-full of upscale restaurant patrons and shoppers, while Peabody (which has much better roadway access) has dollar stores, check-cashing establishments, Bingo, and insurance office storefronts (hello? don't we all buy insurance online now??). We have every advantage - wide streets, good access, reasonably atttractive buildings, plenty of parking.
Here's what we do NOT have: interesting restaurants; crowd-drawing cultural events (sorry, Peabody Institute Library); art galleries; one-of-a-kind shops; coffee shops with wifi (hey, bloggers!); did I already say interesting restaurants? C'mon City Council - stop hiding behind boring special permits and MAKE IT HAPPEN!
12 comments:
Glad to see someone is out here and trying to bring some sense to the blogger world.
Oh and I think you have hit the nail on the head with your observations of our downtown.
I drove through there today and was very sad at what I saw. Why are we still paying this cop to walk people across the street? Can we not get a blinking light that would turn solid when the button is pushed? I think that would cost a hell of alot less than a detail cop for 8 hours a day 5 days a week. My estimate is 94k for that detail cop, anyone else have a guess?
Welcome back PI!
You mean Needham Corner right?
Anon 3:46,
My mistake, just happy to see this blog come back to life! The garbage on the TT is really getting old...
Happy the blog is back in business!!!
I think we would all love to see the downtown be rejuvenated like that, but how do we make it happen? What drives restaurants, coffee houses, art galleries into a neighborhood? What's the spark that initiates this?
My suggestion would be for the city to build a small theater. Could play arthouse movies as well as provide an avenue for live plays and music.
We need something downtown to be driver for all the other businesses to come in. Lets start thinking out of the box....
NC what happened to PI, he has not been on in a while? Thank you for getting the blog up and running again.
I think the downtown needs a plan, I do not think Dave is going about the correct way. Why cut anyone out of the mix on this issue. As Obama said the other night, if you do not like the plan show me your ideas. Dave should be telling these three the samething. If you do not like the rezoning plan show me something. Barry ownes a buisness downtown, he has vested interest in rejuvenating the downtown.
As CC President you need to work with everyone. It is not about flexing your muscle and just cutting people out of the mix. This type of move just makes people wonder what is up behind closed doors.
Welcome back Rountable! We finally have an alternative to the Spiliotis, Dunne, Mello, Sinewitz machine. I hope you stick around!
same old leaf!
I like the idea of a theater, if we could get some decent performance and parking. Before any construction or plans get started, seriously, what this city needs is a design review board, with qualified board members who have taste. The last thing we should see is tacky design all for the sake of lowest bid.
Rezoning, new construction can be a good thing if it is done right. We should keep the height of the buildings to 3 stories.
Let's face it, we need to attract business people, restaurants, dance studio, and shops. (I also agree with a theatre but Marblehead closed theirs on Pleasant st. )But it isn't going to happen so long as this city makes it costly with an abundance of fees to open a business here. I would look at what other city and towns are charging and under what circumstances do building permits fall. Signage is a sore spot - tasteful, non-flashing, non-neon should be the norm. Look at Salem, Danvers, Reading, - really go out and actually look at what their downtowns look like. Granted not every store front they have is great but they are doing business. Perhaps ask a store owner if they are happy with how their city or town handles red tape with them. Then ask a Peabody business and see the difference. That should tell us something. While we need to do something, whatever we do needs to be cohesive. Let us see some real thought put into it so we don't regret rushing into a design or theme that we end up regretting. But more apartments are not the answer.
OG says...
ah yes, now you are on to something...we need a downtown image makeover....this requires leadership, vision, money and conformity...changing the look with nice streetlights...some trees....some classy store signs, awnings, storefronts goes a long away to attract local shoppers and passerbys...out downtown look is shabby, cheap, lacks any cohesion and is truly forgettable...we need an extreme makeover.
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