I support the concept of a boardwalk on Burlington. I think it would be great for the businesses in that section of the CBD, and nice for residents as well. I think slowing down traffic is a good idea, too. In some ways, it takes advantage of the fact that our CBD is not as heavily trafficked as, say LaGrange.
There are a few issues that need to get sorted out before we can make an informed decision about how to proceed on this:
1. How will it be paid for? An SSA for the condo building that the bump-out would be a part of? Should the village taxpayers pay for it? A mix of both? Initial estimates for this have run from $50,000 (Scott Zimmer) to $200,000 (Greg Koch, our Director of Public Works).
2. Would this bump-out be leased to businesses that want/use it? Given to businesses? Who would carry the liability insurance, especially if alcohol is being served in a public area and waitstaff is walking across a sidewalk to serve patrons?
3. I believe that Chief Weitzel has expressed concerns about bumping out a seating area into a active roadway, even with speed bumps. Issues around safety would need to be more closely looked at, as well as any related insurance issues that might result from this.
4. Doug Pollack pointed out that the bump-out would remove seven parking spots from the street, and street parking is significantly more valuable than off-street parking. Doug warned the EDC that he has seen businesses fail because of losing a few spots from in front of their business. The bump-out would eliminate all street parking in front of at least four businesses in our CBD.
5. If the village does this for the businesses on the 30 block of Burlington, what happens when, say, the Village Center asks the village to do something similar for them? Or other businesses ask the same thing? How do we keep from losing more street parking and incurring more costs to the taxpayers in order to build more bump-outs? How many bump-outs are too many in the CBD?
6. Is everyone in the CBD for this? For example, is Riverside Foods okay with having a speed bump out in the street in front of the driveway to their parking lot? I don't know - no one has asked them as far as I know. I have heard from one of the condo owners in the 33/36 E. Burlington building (the one that the bump-out is supposed to cover) and they have told me that no one had asked them about their opinion of it.
7. Are there other things that we would not be able to do in the CBD if we move forward with this bump-out? Would this preclude us from doing other types of upgrades to the Burlington business corridor?
And there may be other considerations that we need to keep in mind as we work on an answer as to whether to proceed on this or not.
Again, I think in theory this is a great idea that would enhance the CBD. I love it as an idea. Until we know what it costs, how it will be paid for, how it affects the overall CBD, and even whether it would bring significant incremental business to places like Grumpy's and Chew Chew, I don't think we're in a position to say "yes, let's move ahead with this." I think it's important to ask questions like the ones above before making significant investments of time, money and resources in projects. For too long, I think we've been in the habit of spending first and asking questions later. Peter is working on a process for getting answers to questions like these, and I suspect the Board will be discussing this and other options for enhancing the CBD in the coming weeks.
So here's my question for you: how do you think that the bump-out should be funded? Let's say that it costs $150,000. What percent should the businesses that are using it pay for building it, and what portion should the village pay? And given the financial situation of the village, how should the village portion be funded?
