Drive less, and sell more.
Bike, Bus and Walk to Work Week (May 13–17) annually encourages the community to try alternative transportation. It’s positioned to take advantage of early spring weather, and several hundred participants take the challenge of leaving the car behind.
In a recent urban housing study, occupancy in center city’s 501 lofts was at 97 percent. To meet anticipated demand, there are almost 200 additional units in the pipeline with projects such as Sky Eleven, The Frisco, Union Biscuit and College Station Lofts. Hundreds of new “creative class” jobs moved within walking and biking distance of those units in the past two years – Lathrop & Gage law firm, Sunrise Communications, Intuitive Web Solutions and several smaller firms on Commercial Street.
With plenty of mixed use opportunities remaining at the IDEA Commons, Heer’s building and Hammons Tower, combined with the demographic horsepower of the millennials and empty nesters, the use of alternative transportation will continue to grow during the next two decades.
Bike, Bus and Walk to Work Week should be more than a push for individuals to be healthier – it should be a wake-up call for entrepreneurs to get ahead of the competition and design new ways to offer core goods and services to urbanites.
Price Cutter is well positioned with its Bistro Market. It already addresses the convenience purchases for staples and prepared foods. But how can it go the next step and better meet loft dwellers’ weekly shopping needs for those who would love the opportunity to avoid a trek out to a supermarket? Through online ordering, its economies of scale of a 56-store chain and relationships it can establish locally, Price Cutter has the ability to offer its urban customers a wide variety of products, competitive value and the convenience of picking up an order at the store or home delivery.
By developing such services, the market could proactively reach out to customers while the legal battles play out on the proposed Walmart Neighborhood Market site near Center City.
The Vision Clinic was a pioneer when it opened its storefront two years ago just west of Boonville on Olive Street. The Jordan Valley Community Health Center provides a wide range of services at its rapidly growing campus on the northeast corner of downtown. A new addition to the industry is Bethesda Medical, which offers comprehensive concierge medicine in the southeast corner of the Monarch Art Factory. For an annual fee, patients are given an initial examination, any subsequent visits throughout the year, and 24/7 access by email or appointments by Skype.
More health care providers should follow their example with urban storefronts for dentists, chiropractors and convenient care clinics.
Rather be wed to a car payment, insurance and ongoing costs of maintenance, how about only paying for transportation when you need it?
Potential collaborations with the Missouri State and Drury universities student housing offices and the Government Plaza institutions could help recruit bike sharing and car share programs, such as Zipcar. According to a report published by the Earth Policy, there are 500,000 shared bikes worldwide in more than 500 cities, including Kansas City; Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Neb.; and Oklahoma City. A Zipcar franchise or an equivalent would allow users flexible programs based on their needs and reduce the amount of on-campus parking.
The new bus transfer station at College Street and Main Avenue will create opportunities for transit-oriented development on College for apartment housing and first-floor commercial uses. The private development within walking distance of this new terminal – or the lack thereof – will have a major impact on elevating the public perception of bus transportation in Springfield.
Bike, Bus and Walk to Work Week can be more than a fun community-awareness promotion. It can be a spark for aspiring entrepreneurs to be innovative and reach out to a new generation of customers.
Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.[[In-content Ad]]
