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Home My WebLink About2016-02-25 DOWNTOWN ACTION & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 25, 2016 CITY OF KITCHENER The Downtown Action & Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m. Present: Melissa Bowman, Chair; Megan Anderson; Erin Atchison; Craig Beattie; Tyson Bond; David Harmes; Jessica Kropf; Councillor Sarah Marsh; Christine Michaud; Kevin Muir; Brian Santos; Scott Thomson; Brad Watson; and Don Zehr Staff: Hilary Abel, Marketing & Program Coordinator Monika Grau, Downtown Development Officer Mistie Brown, Program Assistant Small Business Centre Sandy Curzon, Committee Administrator Other: Megan King, representing the King East Neighbourhood Association (KENA) and David Bratton were 1. Downtown Neighbourhood Engagement Downtown Neighbourhoodsneighbourhoods within walking distance to the downtown core. Members provided the following feedback relating to challenges; infrastructure; marketing and programming opportunities: Challenges: You need a Is it enough/worth it to bring foot traffic, that will equal success i.e. retail sales need more good offerings; entrepreneurs with good business plans and capital to sustain business Currently, daily tasks like grocery shopping cannot be done downtown, particularly after hours The distance between restaurants and venues is large, which does not create a flow for foot traffic To find the synergy between the City, BIA and Neighbourhood Associations Infrastructure: Mill/Courtland area biking and walking is easy, however roads are not pedestrian friendly Downtown at night (Iron Horse Trail) leading to King i.e. Ontario, Water More outdoor patios Marketing Opportunities: Downtown is a great place to connect make it a destination Categorize events food, live music, family friendly, etc. i.e. Andrea from CBC Identify current assets i.e. Centre in the Square; Registry Theatre; Museum and then create events that connect to current assets Niche marketing i.e. use Black Arrow (bike store) to connect to an annual bike race event; Adventures Guild to a gamers event, etc. DOWNTOWN ACTION & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 25, 2016 CITY OF KITCHENER Expand marketing for programs like Dine and Dash into the neighbourhoods calendars/phones. i.e. ew HungrHamilton does a good job at involving/engaging businesses Downtown Associations are often looking for shareable content tag them in on FB posts Programming Opportunities: Create consistent live music experiences so there is entertainment available whenever you want it Some current events are outdated Focus on the events that work and expand on them Create events that happen simultaneously that not only bring people downtown, but keeps them downtown for the day i.e. Ottawa Blues Festival includes a not just blues 2. Suburban Neighbourhood Engagement Suburban Neighbourhoods transportation or vehicles are required to enter the downtown core. Members provided the following feedback relating to challenges; infrastructure needs; marketing and programming opportunities: Challenges: Safety issues/perceptions still hinder people from coming downtown Disconnected from neighbours and community centres People come downtown because there is something that appeals to them Stronger relationships between neighbourhood groups Downtown events will not solve retail attraction problem providing events does not necessarily attract people to shop and dine while attending events Infrastructure: Lack of vehicle parking, when other means of transportation i.e. walking, biking, public transit are not considered Marketing Opportunities: Think of downtown as a host how do you become a good host so that when your quests leave thehad a good experience and Monthly mail out Target neighbourhoods with same interests cross promotion DAAC Minutes Page 2 DOWNTOWN ACTION & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 25, 2016 CITY OF KITCHENER Family focus target groups could include schools and neighbourhood associations (school backpack inserts from the schools) How do you get neighbourhood associations to interact with each other? Community bulletin boards, information boards at public transit stops, libraries, café, community hubs, major employers, non-profits that interact with families, radio stations Is there a message we want to get out to neighbourhoods physical/on-line/social media St. Jacobs, Elora, Kiwanis Park, Waterloo Park a lot of competition Are the residents within the suburbs connecting with their neighbourhood associations? Some neighbourhood associations are stronger than others. The stronger ones have more of a social mandate neighbourhoods operate/connect Develop an incentive to come downtown as a neighbourhood group stage, to expect everyone to have a good experience? downtown? Where do we put our efforts/focus? How do we measure the appetites (what people want) of surrounding neighbourhoods? Programming Opportunities: Roundtable discussion with Downtown Neighbourhood Alliance (DNA) would be good Action: H. Abel will connect with DNA At what point do we say more festivals or better festivals? Downtown Kitchener streets are open for everyone to book for an event Action: H. Abel will connect with T. Bond to discuss further Feedback from event attendees could be valuable what was their experience, impression of downtown, perception before and after event? To get a long-term success of increasing event attraction, you need to provide on-going options 3. What tools do you need from the City of Kitchener? No feedback obtained 4. Information Items Project Updates will be provided monthly th Amaya Express Indian restaurant opened February 25 at 20 King Street East Kitchener-Waterloo Comedy Festival http://kw-comedy.com/ DAAC Minutes Page 3 DOWNTOWN ACTION & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 25, 2016 CITY OF KITCHENER 5. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 5:30pm S. Curzon Committee Administrator DAAC Minutes Page 4