On Friday, January 20, Mayor Don Walters, along with community and business leaders, embarked on an overnight fact-finding tour to help reimagine downtown Cuyahoga Falls. The group traveled to Oak Park, Illinois, and Valparaiso and South Bend, Indiana to experience the successful revitalization of downtown areas that were once struggling. The trip was a fact-finding mission to understand best practices as the city moves forward with the goal of opening the Front Street pedestrian mall to two-way vehicular traffic. Group members self-funded both their lodging and food expenses.
“We have a phenomenal opportunity to create economic growth through a revitalized retail market, better traffic flow, and historic preservation, but that can only happen if accessibility and visibility are improved through opening the pedestrian mall to traffic,” stated Mayor Walters. “During our visit to the cities, we were able to hear about what they learned through the rebuilding process, what they did best, and how the redevelopment efforts have breathed new life into their local economies.”
Each city that was visited, though unique, possessed a similar aspect of the downtown area in Cuyahoga Falls. The group first visited Oak Park, Illinois, a municipality that has a similar population to Cuyahoga Falls at roughly 50,000 residents. Further, the city once had a failed pedestrian mall that they reopened. Valparaiso, Indiana has a stage, interactive water fountain, and ice skating rink that make up the downtown entertainment district. Finally, South Bend, Indiana has a river that runs along the downtown area and acts as a gathering place for residents and visitors as they partake in water activities such a rafting and kayaking. City leaders from all three cities emphasized the importance of the progress that was made thorough investing in the economic lifeblood of their respective regions.
“We are committed to the rebirth of our downtown to provide new economic opportunities for our City. We want to capitalize on the market share that exists because we are in the middle of a transportation hub, but that market share is currently unattainable due to a lack of investment, visibility, traffic, and on-street parking,” Mayor Walters continued. “We have an important question to ask ourselves, and that is if we want a successful downtown? If we think that a thriving downtown is important, then opening the street to traffic is what we have to do.”
The fact-finding tour to gather information and best practices is additional to the extensive research that has been done to understand the feasibility of opening the mall to traffic. Studies were conducted early in the process that included valuable information on how to achieve a more multi-modal, pedestrian-friendly area. In conjunction, a housing and retail market study was completed to identify retail market capability for downtown. An engineering study was commissioned to evaluate the existing fountains, clock tower, and structural integrity of the parking decks. Additionally, various community meetings were conducted and continue to garner public input regarding the future redevelopment of downtown.
A public meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 31, at 6 p.m. in the Erie Room at the Natatorium where residents may hear a comprehensive update on the progress and momentum of the Downtown Transformation project. During the meeting, panel members will discuss infrastructure, market review and concepts, branding, brainstorming, and resident questions. With approval from City Council, road construction could begin in late Spring of this year.