Fresh Start: Back To Basics

Aug 31

10 actions to build trust in community

By: DeeDee Nelson

Life over limb. This is the restart, it has to be safe, welcoming and prioritize people-people reconnecting with the things they need, close to home. There are definitely the big picture issues yet to work on, but for now, design will be literally vital for the survival of our beloved small businesses. Design will be what helps draw people in. Main Street needs to pick itself up, dust itself off and get back into the mix. With trust and friendliness, cooperation and compassion, we're all in this together. Let's build these relationships, let's get back to basics. Here's how:

SIDEWALKSCAPE

Clean all sidewalks and anything on them
Clean all windows and refresh signage either by washing or replacing
Tidy or prune all grass, plantings and trees
Install large, attractive and cohesive wayfinding signage board on each block
Install additional bike racks and recycle & garbage bins
'Recovery kit' of the essentials for each shop/place of business
Sidewalk accoutrements, eg sandwich boards, for each shop/place of business
Just add food! -two to three food trucks parked together using city parking
Pièce de résistance - Main Street Ambassador - a friendly face
Just sit back and wait for the magic to happen!

The Main Street Ambassador will walk the sidewalks and play a vital role in creating a sense of belonging and community spirit by helping with shop info, handing out maps and sanitizer, guiding, keeping areas clean and safe, answering questions, offering transit info, pointing out nearby washrooms, handling accessibility questions, and general welcoming to all. They will be recognized by their friendly demeanor and identifying neighbourhood-themed t-shirt or cap. Once these steps are completed and while the people are coming back, Main Street needs to start thinking about the next steps..local shop 'crawl' tours, marketplaces along the sidewalk or in nearby plazas, traffic-slowing, each shop's online presence as present and future backup plan, local transit plans and connecting Main Street to other desirable locales and amenities close by. See my next installments for an exploration into these and let's Bring Back Main Street, by design.

Details

Budget: Budget for all items and labour is approximately $3,000-$5,000 per block.

Materials and fabrication: Recovery Kit for each shop/place of business: plastic bucket holding sanitizer pump, cleaner spray bottle and bulk paper towel pack, sidewalk decals for distancing, 2m length of string for measuring, approximately $25 per kit.

Large wayfinding signage board for each block: collaborate with all groups involved to create a cohesive, attractive, interesting, culturally and locally representative look and feel, environmentally friendly and resistant to the elements, approximately $400 per temporary board until long-term boards are created. These boards must replace the outdated massive placards, ( the ones with tiny maps that no one can see or use, and in fact leave out the actual shops in the area)

Sidewalk accoutrements: wooden sandwich boards and/or other pleasant self-standing signs, approximately $100-$200 each Sidewalk stickers or stencils: temporary "stand here" stickers or permanent more artistic/decorative spot-painting, using stencils, to designate places to queue and to animate the space in general.

Bike racks: parking for bikes, free by city Waste bins and zero waste stations: recycling and garbage, free by city Portable self-standing umbrella with sand-filled bottom for Main Street Ambassador: approximately $300

Ambassador: depending on arrangement, could be a civic employee or BIA volunteer, neighbourhood volunteer or combined effort of all three

Benches for placement on the sidewalk near the food trucks parked along the street: free by the city

Street parking for the food trucks: free by the city

Installation and other services: Once all involved have come together to collaborate, the City and the local BIA will outsource the installation of all items and services to the shops and businesses themselves, the Indigenous community for the input they have chosen and to the appropriate local enterprises-local artists, tradespeople, non-profit organizations.