Here Are 5 Ways To Help Your Downtown Community Rock And Thrive!

Downtown, in any city or town, is typically known as the heart beat of the city. Unfortunately, some thrive and others don't. Here are some ideas to think about.  The first thing a downtown must have is a good plan. Today on the Top 5 at 7:45, I'll highlight some ideas that may help downtown to become a thriving district, according to John Karras from urbanSCALE.com.

1. Turn One-Way Streets Into Two-Way Streets - This is good for channeling traffic, but bad for retail business. Two-way streets have been proven to increase property value and create a more comfortable environment for shoppers and pedestrians.
2. More Downtown Events - These events can be effective when they feature food, music and merchants. It's a way for businesses to come out of the brick and mortar and set up the extension at these events. They should be as frequent as possible.
3. Open a Satellite Campus of a Local University - This is a great idea for downtown. You have more students going downtown for school, frequenting businesses and being a part of the downtown scene. This has been proven to provide a major boost to the downtown economy.
4. Fabricate a Downtown Playground - Instead of having playgrounds in local parks, one can be created in a downtown environment. This will help to bring traffic to the downtown area. These are becoming a trend across America and are helping to revitalize many downtown areas, along with children's museums.
5. Set Up a Downtown Entertainment District Area - Even if it's a few blocks or more, it has been proven that residents will go and check out what is hot and what is not in their downtown community. It can also change people's impressions that downtown is not a thriving entity.

Obviously, there are more ideas that could be incorporated to make a downtown thrive. Ideas like bike share stations, permanent public markets, and such like. But hopefully this will get you to look into what can make Cheyenne a thriving downtown entity for all.

The Top 5 at 7:45 airs weekdays with me, Gary Freeman and sponsored by First Education Federal Credit Union.