I wish more local politicians from San
Francisco, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Santa Monica and similar
anti-commerce villages would take a walk in a mall. They might learn a
few lessons relevant to the vitality of their small town businesses and
business streets:
These are facts of life. Sentimentalists and eco-nuts: eat your bicycle seats, your Nike shoes and a big black crow.
* A main big box store and big box chain restaurants support dozens of smaller specialty stores, shops and restaurants.
* Two or three shoes stores and two or three jewelry stores can operate successfully close together and pull in more shoe stores and jewelry stores.
* A good flow of pedestrian traffic generates a market for many incidental stores such as Apple stores, mobile telephone stores, food courts and dozens of min-cart stores.
* The incidental stores generate even more foot traffic. Foot traffic needs places to sit down, a center of gravity and bath rooms.
* You need good parking for good business.
These are facts of life. Sentimentalists and eco-nuts: eat your bicycle seats, your Nike shoes and a big black crow.