DTM Action Plan: City wants to take charge

The city takes its first steps toward establishing a "dedicated entity" within city government to take charge of the Downtown Mall.

James Freas, Deputy City Manager for Operations, presents the Downtown Mall Action Plan to Charlottesville City Council on May 20.

After the decision was made to build the downtown mall, the city was more or less content to leave its fate in the hands of various business owners and developers over the years. While that eventually resulted in the mall's success, against considerable odds (something like 89% of the first-generation pedestrian mall like ours have failed), it has also created a lot of problems -- the privatization of public space, loss of public seating and fountains, vehicle crossing that encroach upon the pedestrian space (and allowed for a horrific tragedy in 2017), a chronic homelessness problem, inconsistent parking policy, businesses feelings isolated and unsupported, programming strategies that haven't been inclusive, branding, public relations, and marketing efforts that have been weak and inconsistent, and the shell of an abandoned hotel that has been towering ov…