On July 31, I attended the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. luncheon with more than 1,000 other guests. Of course, the annual economic forecast for Anchorage is always the main topic. Mr. Bill Popp, president of AEDC, presented lots of facts and figures and unfortunately, we are headed into minor recession in the next few years.
However, the highlight of the program was the guest speaker from Idaho, who spoke about the trend in the U.S. to revitalize the downtowns of our country. He showed photos of many U.S. cities, and the main theme was the creation of pedestrian zones in the downtown areas. This is very popular with the residents and visitors alike.
The speaker pointed out that the younger generation especially loves such pedestrian zones and plazas and more of them move back into the center of downtown. The photos showed old parking lots landscaped and converted into shopping areas. He suggested Anchorage to have a permanent public market, like Pike Place Market in Seattle, that is the favorite local and visitor attraction.
In Europe, many major cities like Munich, Nurenberg and Salzburg have converted downtown areas into pedestrian zones for many decades, and they are very popular and successful.
The speaker suggested that downtown Anchorage on Fourth Avenue and Fifth Avenue between E Street and F/G streets would be a great start for our city. This would substantially increase the business for shops, restaurants and hotels, as especially tour groups and conventions would stay longer and spend more money in our city.
I hope the mayor, Assembly and the downtown business organizations will seriously evaluate such potential and ideas for our community.
— Chris von Imhof
Girdwood
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