My observations of the Project for Public Spaces folks who came to view us twice was that they were good people, working hard to do what they were experts at doing, which includes re-imagining how spaces are used and thinking about the big picture of re-animating public open spaces. They told us several times that Saturday Market was the best thing going downtown, that we were doing everything right, and they wouldn't want to change a thing about us. I did try to take them at their word, and as far as I know, that's the city plan as well.
But as luck would have it, the two days they came were not the best days. The first one was one of those unimaginably hot days in August when our vendors stayed away by the dozens. We didn't look full at all. The second day they came in October, it was the monsoon day. They left, being completely unprepared for that, and both Markets closed early as well, which was unprecedented in recent memory.
So lots of the ideas pitched by the public were not realistic or applicable to Saturdays in that location in the selling season of April through mid-November. A play structure for kids? Great idea, but it would have to be removed every week for safety and spatial reasons...they need the right surface under them, the right amount of space around them, and so on. A water feature that kids can play in? Well, maybe, but it won't be only kids that use it...people take baths in the fountain all the time in our current reality. So do you really want some half-dressed adults playing in the water too? Because you can't put a chain-link fence around it and sell tickets.
We support an enhanced stage area so that more groups can use the infrastructure during the week and at other times when we are not there. Some lighting, an electrical upgrade, a covering that drains better and doesn't cause puddles to form where guitarists want to stand, yes to those. On the west block, the existing coverings have problems too, but many of our members count on the shade and weather protection and rented their spaces with the idea that those would be provided. So some accommodations will have to be made if those are removed, and the walls on that block are used and loved as well. The stairs and access for wheels are pretty lame on the west block, though we've adapted, so we have mixed feelings about leveling it, but we could probably cope with changes like that. With difficulty, though.
We want a kiosk that provides information to tourists, with maps, charging stations, permanent restrooms, and other amenities, that could include storage for tables and chairs that the city could own and lease or lend out for events. In concept it is a win, but location is an issue of course. If we could use it as an info booth and put it over on East Park and Oak where our booth is now, that might be ideal...and many, many people support permanent restrooms.
We rent nine porta-potties on Saturday, and it's a huge chunk of our operating budget. Of course as a large event we would still have to rent some, but it would be great to get some city support to lower that cost. But yes, location is an issue once again. It leads to the thought of redesigning the southern corners of both blocks to see if utilities can be fitted in with a gain of sales space instead of a loss. Might be tricky, but if it is planned for, well, great.
Most of our other issues are small...smoother concrete in places where people regularly lose their loads from hand-trucks and dollies when trying to load into the center of the blocks, and some anchors embedded to hold down some of the booths and eliminate the 100 pounds of sand we are each required to haul down there as booth weights. Let me tell you as an older person that the weight bags are going to be the determining factor for me to attend on rainy days, maybe even this season. I can't do it without hurting myself, and of course I am not the only one. We have 600 members! On any given day in the season we fill 250 booths.
We kind of want to stay exactly as we are if the choice is a big change or none...but of course we don't know yet what the choices will be and as renters of the parks, we aren't going to be making the decisions. We are included in the process, thus the task force, thus the visioning process, but yes, the wariness too.
It might be impossible to imagine what the loss of even one space does to our system. Each member commits to a space on the basis of a complex point system that ranks us with lots of variables worked in. You can hold your space for years if you keep your points up by attending and paying on time, so many of us feel that we have permanent homes and neighborhoods. My particular space has its issues, like backing up to the fountain and in fact losing a corner to it, but I love it and have made it work for me. So putting benches or other items around the fountain could eliminate my space. If that happened, it's not a simple matter to fix. Any space I was eligible for would be someone else's unless they gave it up and I had the point order to get it. People strategize and plan for years to get the space they want, so the good locations don't generally open up. Moving my booth to another location entirely is a huge disruption for my business and my personal experience at the Market.
Sure, it might be good, but it might destroy what I have built so patiently and with so much effort. And it we displace a lot of members with some structure or other, we might have to start all over and remap and redistribute space. Some people think that would be a good idea, but I see it as utter chaos and a plan that will involve a lot of loss, people quitting, people arguing, people hurt and relationships disrupted. It would not be simple or effortless in execution, so if anyone suggests that it would, let me give you my full rant on that. It could take awhile.
I should say that everything so far that has involved our organization and the city has worked out fine, even big things like the fountain repair last summer and the siting of dog-waste stations and signage...if it is in the wrong place, it gets moved, and we adapt. There's a pretty strong trust relationship between SM and the City staff. I don't want to set up anxiety or speculate on what horrors change could bring. I'm really here to illustrate that we are artists, so we do have a lot of creative ideas, and we generally celebrate the creative ideas of others.
I think I've said this before, I simply do not want Eugene citizens and leaders to break what is working really well. We're here to help make these decisions work. We want the Parks to be loved and healthy and used by a wide swath of residents and visitors. We want to continue to be the well-loved gem that we know we are. We do not want to be forced to stand in opposition to something lots of people want.
So if you are interested in this process that is coming up this next month when PPS reports and recommends to the City, stay tuned, and keep me in mind if you have questions about what the Market wants. A large group of us got together and distilled that and we are ready to work together. Let's do a good job of this. It is vitally important to a number of business owners that we get this right from plan to completion. I'm ready with my post-its and my heavy notebook of all that has been said and done so far, from the Park Blocks Master Plan of 2006 to this fall's forums and presentations. I know we can all end up on the same page and I can put my notebook on the shelf at some point. I'm paying attention, and keeping a lot of people informed as well, so any discussions about the Park Blocks are not happening in theory, they are happening in a living reality, a legacy event that is a town treasure. It's the city's front porch. My rocking chair is on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.