The controversy over proposed changes to Thomasville Road in midtown Tallahassee generated overwhelming opposition from local businesses, commuters, and residents alike.
On one hand, it’s a great example of how broad and admirable visions – in this case, improving the overall attractiveness of Midtown – don’t always survive the descent into the nitty gritty details of implementation.
Folks spent a lot of time developing a vision for Midtown and, in many ways, it is a good one – a more vibrant, walkable destination area where businesses can flourish.
But as the Midtown plan pertains to the southern end of Thomasville Road, it simply didn’t pass the common sense test – eliminating a left turn lane would have been disastrous move for commuters and businesses. And it likely wouldn’t have mattered because few of them would have survived two years of the vital road being converted to one way southbound.
We are relieved that FDOT killed the Blueprint-driven plan, sparing businesses and commuters from what could have been an economic disaster for that area of town.
Taking a step back, however, Red Tape Florida believes this is a symptom of a larger problem – Tallahassee seems to be a one-trick pony of “placemaking,” without a true vision or understanding of how to grow a retail economy. While murals, landscaping, and wider sidewalks may enhance an area’s aesthetic appeal, they are not enough to grow a thriving retail economy.
Midtown’s future success requires more than cosmetic changes; it demands a serious strategy for attracting and sustaining retail businesses.
While it is now clear that Blueprint citizen engagement badly missed the mark, something else caught our eye. The survey of residents about what to do in Midtown was notable for what was NOT included as options for a response. Blueprint asked survey takers to rank the following in importance: bicycle facilities, bus stops and amenities, congestion relief, pedestrian facilities, placemaking, travel speeds and signage and wayfinding.
Notably absent from the survey? Business development and parking. The entire survey is devoid of anything that might help drive some actual commerce.
Making a difference is going to require some new thinking, not just from local government, but from folks in nearby residential areas who too often take a NIMBY (not in my backyard) approach.
The area will never become a thriving walkable area until there is a critical mass of places to walk. Right now, a smattering of wonderful restaurants and retail establishments are surrounded by non-retail establishments such as associations, law offices, accountants, office parks and even an oil-change shop. But, visionary public officials would realize that we need a level of retail density in the area that attracts and engages strolling shoppers.
How can they help achieve that vision? Re-write our local building code so that it embraces flexibility in retail design and makes it easier and faster to get building permits. Usher in a cultural change so that Tallahassee’s permitting bureaucracy looks for a way to say “yes” instead of tolerating a bureaucracy that loves to say “no.” And, expand to the Midtown area the successful grant programs, such as the ones used by Tallahassee’s Community Redevelopment Agency. These are programs that help finance new retail construction and façade improvements.
And then, of course, the issue of parking simply must be addressed. There isn’t nearly enough of it, even for existing businesses. A plan for a garage was shouted down by nearby residents who want their cake – a quiet walkable area – and eat it, too (preferably at a place they can walk to).
The irony? A central parking facility encourages walking by getting people out of their cars and onto the sidewalks. And perhaps a surge in retail activity would make it easier for business owners to survive new traffic patterns rather than take it in the teeth while lipstick is put on the pig.
Tallahasseeans often look longingly north to the bustling downtown across the Georgia state line. But downtown Thomasville isn’t a destination because of cobblestone streets and fancy light fixtures. It works because of a healthy glut of retail. Parking is easy. Shopping is prolific. It’s safe and easy and thriving …. that’s what real placemaking looks like.
The intersection of local government and private business is never simple. But it’s time for Tallahassee to run some new plays – and one of them should be to develop a strategy specifically designed to grow retail. Midtown seems as good of a place as any to start.
In other words, let’s take a sharp turn toward a business-first approach to placemaking.