It’s no surprise to hear from downtown merchants that the promise of Providence Place attracting shoppers to businesses in other parts of the city turned out to be folly.
The mall, approaching its second anniversary, was designed to capture shoppers, offering them everything from morning coffee, lunch and dinner, to eye surgery, cosmetics and virtually everything you want to buy.
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The mall is a destination, not an invitation to discover the city, as some had represented it would become.
But as much as the mall stands as a self contained shopping experience, shoppers are also turned away from downtown because of deteriorating conditions and an issue, raised quite often, of safety.
In spite of a promise by the Rhode Island Foundation of a $10 million infusion for the improvement of downtown, including moving Travelers Aid to the YMCA building far from downtown, merchants remain skeptical. “Downtown,” said one merchant, “hasn’t changed for the better — it’s changed for the worse.” Others agreed (see related story).
So what can be done to make shoppers believe that all of downtown Providence, from the Mall to the Arcade, is something worth experiencing?
Some of it comes from the city, some of it from the merchants. We hear there’s a move afoot for merchants to come together to develop their own security and maintenance forces to supplement what the city already provides.
This is what happened in Times Square in New York City, and it transformed what had become a very seedy part of town into a family oriented attraction. They developed an association, provided safer and cleaner streets and stimulated renovations that resulted in a far more attractive Times Square — a Times Square that brought interesting new shops, and thousands upon thousands of tourists and shoppers.
The panhandlers and porno shops that dominated Times Square were gone for the most part. In its place were bicycle riding security personnel and maintenance crews, adding to the efforts already provided by the city.
It’s not enough for merchants in downtown Providence to look for others to simply provide the funds to change the atmosphere. It is up to them as well to develop the kind of organization that can create an atmosphere in the rest of downtown that will make visitors to Providence Place want to take a stroll and see what all the buzz is about on Westminster Mall.
