09-26-2008, 01:20 AM
from ca.com:
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/200...st-future/
Task force to decide Main Street Mall's future
Eighteen people will study best use of mall
By Wayne Risher, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, September 26, 2008
Downtown's development agency named a broad-based task force Thursday to determine the Main Street Mall's future, including the suggested return of car traffic.
Center City Commission chairman Paul Morris appointed 18 people -- business owners, residents, development professionals and others -- to the Main Street task force.
Commission member Stuart McGehee, who will chair the group, said he anticipates starting work in October and moving quickly to form recommendations.
The commission voted to form the group after gauging public opinion last summer on returning vehicles to the street. Once the nerve center of Downtown, the street was converted to a pedestrian mall in the mid-1970s and a transit mall in the 1990s.
Center City officials said public meetings on the traffic proposal raised such a wide array of criticisms -- from lack of maintenance to unreliable trolley service -- that they believed a wider view was needed.
The task force is expected to look at allowing cars in a test area, high vacancy rates among Main Street retail spaces, the trolley's efficiency as public transit and other questions.
Morris said he hopes the study can be finished by March. Some recommendations may require action by other agencies, such as the City Council, because the mall is city property.
Commission member and Councilman Bill Boyd applauded the task force's makeup, saying, "I'm glad to see it's not overloaded with politicians like myself and government representatives."
The task force includes three public officials.
-- Wayne Risher: 529-2874
Main Street Task Force
Stuart McGehee, Center City Commission member, chairman
Tom Fox, Memphis Area Transit Authority
Wain Gaskins, City Engineer
Maura Black Sullivan, Office of Planning and Development deputy director
Brandon Bryant, Renasant Bank, Downtown Parking Authority
Craig Dillihunt, Bank of Bartlett, Center City Development Corp.
Kenneth Goff, Healthcare Realty Services, Design Review Board
Martin Truitt, Discover Financial Services, Center City Revenue Finance Corp.
Edward L. Stanton III, FedEx, Center City Commission and Development Corp.
Michelle Trammell, The Securities Group, Center City Commission
Yorke Lawson, Court Square Center partner
John Dudas, Belz Enterprises
Carl Winfield, Winfield Shoes & Accessories
Christine Shelton, Shelton Clothiers
Ray Pohlman, AutoZone
Ritchie Smith, Memphis Design Center
Stephanie Steele, Main Street resident
Sue Layman, Downtown resident
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/200...st-future/
Task force to decide Main Street Mall's future
Eighteen people will study best use of mall
By Wayne Risher, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, September 26, 2008
Downtown's development agency named a broad-based task force Thursday to determine the Main Street Mall's future, including the suggested return of car traffic.
Center City Commission chairman Paul Morris appointed 18 people -- business owners, residents, development professionals and others -- to the Main Street task force.
Commission member Stuart McGehee, who will chair the group, said he anticipates starting work in October and moving quickly to form recommendations.
The commission voted to form the group after gauging public opinion last summer on returning vehicles to the street. Once the nerve center of Downtown, the street was converted to a pedestrian mall in the mid-1970s and a transit mall in the 1990s.
Center City officials said public meetings on the traffic proposal raised such a wide array of criticisms -- from lack of maintenance to unreliable trolley service -- that they believed a wider view was needed.
The task force is expected to look at allowing cars in a test area, high vacancy rates among Main Street retail spaces, the trolley's efficiency as public transit and other questions.
Morris said he hopes the study can be finished by March. Some recommendations may require action by other agencies, such as the City Council, because the mall is city property.
Commission member and Councilman Bill Boyd applauded the task force's makeup, saying, "I'm glad to see it's not overloaded with politicians like myself and government representatives."
The task force includes three public officials.
-- Wayne Risher: 529-2874
Main Street Task Force
Stuart McGehee, Center City Commission member, chairman
Tom Fox, Memphis Area Transit Authority
Wain Gaskins, City Engineer
Maura Black Sullivan, Office of Planning and Development deputy director
Brandon Bryant, Renasant Bank, Downtown Parking Authority
Craig Dillihunt, Bank of Bartlett, Center City Development Corp.
Kenneth Goff, Healthcare Realty Services, Design Review Board
Martin Truitt, Discover Financial Services, Center City Revenue Finance Corp.
Edward L. Stanton III, FedEx, Center City Commission and Development Corp.
Michelle Trammell, The Securities Group, Center City Commission
Yorke Lawson, Court Square Center partner
John Dudas, Belz Enterprises
Carl Winfield, Winfield Shoes & Accessories
Christine Shelton, Shelton Clothiers
Ray Pohlman, AutoZone
Ritchie Smith, Memphis Design Center
Stephanie Steele, Main Street resident
Sue Layman, Downtown resident