It was a full house yesterday (Thursday) at Western Iowa Networks for the initial report from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Downtown Resource Center’s assessment on the status of Carroll’s downtown. Five professionals from around the state spent three days touring the community, engaging with focus groups, reviewing data, and much more to paint a picture of the downtown’s strengths, weaknesses, and what can be done to improve upon it. Iowa Downtown Resource Center Director Jim Engle says one of the first things they noticed about downtown Carroll is that it is much better positioned than many communities they visit.
Engle says Carroll is fortunate to have 60+ businesses operating in and around the downtown by their count, which is head and shoulders above where many communities they assist can say. Engle says Carroll has a different issue, and that is local perception, which was the initial report’s first theme.
During Thursday’s presentation, it was repeatedly said that the community needs to stop looking to the past and focus on what they have now and what can be done for the future. To address the public perception issue, they put together several ideas for adding more signage in the downtown and surrounding areas to direct foot and vehicle traffic to the many businesses that are already there. One “weakness” that was noted was ascetics. Another topic that was cited frequently in the pre-survey was a lack of parking and long walks. However, the team dispelled that belief quickly. They counted more than 400 parking spots, with the entire downtown area within 1,000 feet of parking. Jeff Geerts compares that to shoppers at the Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines.
A suggestion they made to make walking downtown more attractive is to slow vehicle traffic on adjacent roadways, such as Carroll and 5th Streets, by adding additional crosswalks and stop signs. IEDA Business Specialist Jim Thompson says one area where the downtown could really improve is the consistency of design through the implementation of a community design guide.
In general, the report had far more positive things to say about Carroll’s downtown than negative. Most of their recommendations are relatively low-cost and easy to implement. One large proposal that would be years down the road would be to convert the Westgate Mall into an open-air mall by removing the roof over the hallway. The full report from the Downtown Resource Center will be available in four to six weeks, and that is when the real work begins. Video of the presentation, as well as an interview with Chamber and Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP) Executive Director Kimberly Teifenthaler, are included below.
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