THE FIRST MOVE BELONGS TO THE CITY:

If the city government isn’t serious about making its downtown a better place, the residents and local business community will likely not be receptive to what is being  proposed.   Let’s begin by covering what the city government needs to do to get the process started…

Get the local media involved.  They’re community based, they can help spread the word on what the city proposes and they need news to publish.  Once the city has announced its intentions, the effort undertaken should cover every possible issue that needs to be addressed.

Clean and repair city property (streets, sidewalks, curbs, etc.)  

Remove weeds / vegetation from the sidewalks, next to buildings, in the curb and in the street.  Nothing says “death” in a downtown like weeds growing through the streets.

If downtown has trash receptacles; is the trash picked up? Is the overall area cleaned on a consistent basis?   Consider using 4-H clubs, Boy Scouts, Lions Club, Rotary, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce or other civic groups to do a major clean-up day. Work with these groups to take part in a plan for ongoing upkeep.

If the budget allows; patch pot holes, replace or repair compromised sidewalks / crosswalks.  This is an appearance issue as well as an insurance consideration.  

        

Paint curbs where parking is not allowed

Are street lights working?  If you aren’t going to fix them - remove them!

Are alleys properly signed for traffic direction?

Paint fire hydrants and other city owned property visible to the public.

Are all traffic signs in place and good repair?   Ask for hand me down signs from other governments if you need to. Besides being annoying, unreadable signs are an insurance risk for your community.

Are there confusing or conflicting traffic signs that make no sense and should be removed?

Remove broken public fixtures like planters and garbage cans...better yet fix or replace them if the city can afford to do so.

It wouldn’t hurt to have your city’s insurance agent walk through the downtown to identify any risks you may have overlooked. While sometimes annoying, your insurance agent is a great source of "outside eyes" for your community.

Now that you THINK you have the city’s issues under control; find people from outside the community to look over your downtown to make sure you didn’t miss anything.  Ask individuals from a neighboring community or local community college to walk through downtown and make observations.

Now that downtown has been cleaned up; commit to keeping it that way by having an actual plan and schedule for clean up and periodic inspection for repair issues.