Recent Press
Learning how to coax visitors to downtown York
DAINA KLIMANIS
The York Dispatch Article
05/01/2008
When Roger Brooks drove into York City a few days ago, he missed Continental Square even though he drove right through it. There were signs leading up to the square at Market and George streets but nothing telling him he had arrived. Then he followed signs to parking, but they just led him in loops.
And though Brooks, a tourism consultant, said he was impressed by the city's Central Market and rich history, he said the city needs to give visitors more to do in the evenings and a clearer idea of why they should come in the first place.
"They're going to ask this question: 'If I can do that closer to home, why should I go to York to do it?' " Brooks told a group of businesspeople and city officials Wednesday.
Brooks wanders cities for a living as the face of Destination Development Inc., a consulting company based in Washington state. On his trip to York he tried to look through the eyes of a potential tourist, and he said what he saw was not always pretty.
"We're mean as visitors, because we judge a book by its cover," Brooks said.
Choosing a message: He said the city's merchants need to do more to make their businesses attractive from the outside, and the city needs a marketing campaign that will actually set it apart.
Should the city advertise its historic character, he asked, or a hipper and more modern urban atmosphere?
Then the city needs to get its message out. People who look the city up online are less likely to learn about the city's history than about its legacy of racial tension, Brooks said. City brochures advertising redevelopment perpetuate a less-than-stellar reputation instead of moving past it, he said.
Though Brooks said his walks through town took him through a few "scary" neighborhoods, he said he saw nothing worse than what other cities are facing.
If the city wants to bring people in, it has to focus on the positives, he said.
"You have one of the coolest downtowns I've been in, and I've been in a lot," Brooks said.
Already trying: The message was invigorating for Andrea Linebaugh and Michele Strine, owners of The Studio and Art Bar on the city's Beaver Street. They plan to paint their building purple, add mosaics to the planters on their sidewalk and do whatever else they can to attract customers.
But no matter what improvements they make, business depends on what is happening nearby. The number of customers coming in drops sharply as soon as the nearby Central Market closes at 2 p.m., Strine said.
To create more of a draw, Brooks said the market should consider changing its hours, and merchants should create a showcase block packed full of shops and restaurants to attract locals and tourists alike.
The city's first block of West Market Street has a good ambiance for more restaurants and specialty shops, he said, and the adjoining first block of North Beaver Street could become a pedestrian-only boulevard.
The boulevard is something Linebaugh of The Studio and Art Bar has wanted to see for years. But she was one of just a few shopowners who attended Brooks' presentation, and said she only hopes she can stir up support to put the suggested improvements in place.
"If we had other businesses on our street who were like-minded, we could get that rolling," Linebaugh said.
Brooks' visit was sponsored by the York County Chamber of Commerce, the York County Economic Development Corp., Better York and the York County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
--Reach Daina Klimanis at 505-5439 or dklimanis@yorkdispatch.com.
Inviting people in Roger Brooks of Destination Development Inc. said most of the businesses in York's downtown need to do more to invite customers in off the streets:
---Be open when people are available, especially evenings and weekends.
---Add hanging or mounted signs perpendicular to the storefront, so drivers can see them as they come down the street. Make sure the signs let people know what sort of business to expect.
---Avoid sending people away with a "Closed" sign, but invite them to return and tell them when.
---Pick up litter on the sidewalk and use plants to make a building look inviting and well kept. Months-old Christmas decorations are a no-no.
But while the outside of a business needs to draw people in, it will attract more customers if a mix of similar businesses is nearby to make the area worth a visit, Brooks said.
