Article 6 - Downtown (updated on 18th)

Summerland is so lucky to have a downtown located off the highway. Whenever I drive through Westbank on Highway 97 it reminds me of that line from a popular song from childhood, "the railroad goes through the middle of the house". I had a long conversation with Alan Fabbi in November about the downtown and the downtown merchants. It really got me pondering. Here's some thoughts, in no particular order:

• Summerland is in an unusual situation with the big towns of Penticton and Kelowna nearby.
• Towns like Nelson support a complete range of downtown shops and services because they don't have the competitive problem of quick access to large town facilities.
• Why not expand the downtown revitalisation theme to include the complete downtown area?
• Stores on the South side of main street could be double sided, or small cafes could be on the Wharton street side, facing memorial park. The "backside" of the present stores is not a pretty sight!
• Trying to compete head to head with Penticton is futile, because of sheer size. We open a new Penny Lane, they open a London Drugs and a Winners.
• Underground parking plus housing above ground floor stores would be the ideal long term aim, but the individual properties are too small for this. Redevelopment will require consolidated lots and larger buildings (which could be designed to have a small scale feel), and is a multi million dollar project. This is beyond the financial scope of downtown merchants. A long term redevelopment plan for the entire downtown is needed.
• Downtown merchants have one big advantage over their competitors in malls like Cherry Lane - far lower rents.
• Downtown merchants pay considerable property taxes. If we don't support them and they go out of business, the rest of us will have to pick up the shortfall.
• Retired folk are a great group of shoppers to aim for. They don't enjoy driving, especially in the dark (many do not drive at all). Retired folk generally shop during the daytime, so shorter opening hours work for them. Their incomes may not be high but they are steady.
• Many Summerland businesses are just as good and efficient as their equivalents in larger communities, and they seem to do well. A few don't provide good service and don't deserve success.
• I sometimes start out intending to shop in Summerland but end up in Penticton because I cannot find a commonplace item on my "to buy" list in stock in Summerland.
• People used to come from far and wide to shop here on those days when the old 5 to a dollar store had special sales events. The right draw can work.
• We have many artisans and craftspeople in town. How about a place where they can work together and display and sell their wares? I'm thinking of a visitor centre, complete with cafe, where you can go and watch a potter, a jeweller, a painter, a woodworker practicing their craft, then buy a piece of their work.
• Folk who live within easy walking distance of the downtown are more likely to shop there. Once you are in your car, carrying on to Penticton is too easy!
• Downtowns are a disadvantage to malls when it comes to shopping in bad weather. Cashmere near Wenatchee has an interesting partial solution to this with its continuous canopies covering sidewalks and crossings. Downtowns must make the most of their counter-benefit, a short walk from car to store.
• One of the best things about our downtown is the angled parking and the consequent narrow roadway. The narrower roadway forces traffic to travel slowly. Pedestrians feel safer.
• Many of the newer stores in our downtown focus on low price or secondhand goods. This is great for locals, but out-of-town shoppers will only be drawn to Summerland if specialty items are for sale here that cannot be found elsewhere in the valley. Rather than battling with Penticton and Kelowna, a better plan might be to accept that "our" shoppers go there for everyday goods and to draw "their" shoppers here with specialty items, for example artworks, antiques, etc. An extreme example of that idea in action is Leavenworth.