Date: December 4, 2007
Place: Bradford Public Library
Project: City of Bradford Master Plan
Client: City of Bradford
Time: 11:00 am-1:00 pm
MCF No.: 44506002
Attendees:
Livingston Alexander, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Sara Andrews, City of Bradford OECD
Greg Booth, Zippo
Linda Devlin, ANF Visitors Bureau
Rick Esch, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Mike Glesk, Bradford Area Alliance
Harvey Golubock, ARG
Chris Hauser, Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corp
Rob Huber, Bradford Travel
Kathy Jones, Zippo
Bill Leven, Futures
*** McDowell, Bradford Area Alliance
Shane Oschman, Northwest Savings
John Peterson, City of Bradford
Brad Preston, Sawyer Evangelical Church
Scott Rice, KOA Speers
Sandy Romanowski, Bradford Area School District
Tom Urban, Beacon Light
Simon Tripp, Impact Economics
Roberta Sarraf, Zoning/Planning Consultant
Albert Filoni, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Ken Lee, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Amy Maceyko, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Purpose: To review drawings presented by MCF, economic retail analysis data, socio-economic data and zoning information, and then break-up into groups for more detailed discussion and brainstorming.
Items Discussed:
1. Mr. Glesk began by explaining the meeting format that was planned. The planning team has a 45 minute presentation with some ideas and information. Then the attendees will be broken into three groups and each group will be given a topic to discuss related to the presentation. At the end, the meeting will reconvene so that the breakout groups can report on their discussions.
2. Mr. Filoni began the presentation by emphasizing that nothing that is being proposed is set in stone. The team is not going to present timid ideas, so some drawings will involve property that the city doesn’t own. These are just concepts so that the group can begin to talk about concrete possibilities but nothing has been decided. He also commented that the lack of green space downtown could be contributing to the negative view that residents have of downtown. It could be making less attractive areas seem worse than they are.
3. The MCF team reviewed the different ways that one enters Bradford. Back when there was a connection between 219 and South Avenue, the entrance to town was very green and it brought visitors right into the heart of town. Now visitors enter Bradford at intersections that don’t provide a sense of having “arrived”. Coming from the south drivers have to drive under an unattractive overpass and from the north it is possible to bypass a view of Main Street by taking Davis Street to Boyleston Street. It would be nice to provide more green space and greenery around the edges of the parking lots, along the highway, along Davis Street and along the outside wall of TOPS. MCF also identified several critical intersections that need to feel more important and well-defined – Davis and Elm Street, Davis and Main Street, Davis and Boyleston Street, Boyleston and Mechanic Street.
4. Many Bradford residents have mentioned Ellicottville, NY to the planning team, so a driving tour was scheduled during the last trip. It is very attractive, but it is also a very different kind of place than Bradford. It is much smaller than Bradford is and it is a resort town that does not have the industry that is found in the Tuna Valley. The other thing that the planning team noticed is that the town square in Ellicottville is much greener than Veteran’s Square. The square in Bradford has trees and pavement, but the square in Ellicottville is open and grass-covered. Mr. Filoni proposed that Veteran’s Square could be bigger (with the closing of the traffic lane in front of the Seneca building) and more green by replacing some of the pavement and plantings with grass. Similarly, MCF will look at the possibility of narrowing Main Street near intersections to allow for more trees and maybe some grassy patches to be planted along the street. On street parking would be maintained, but a space might be lost here or there in the reorganization.
5. The MCF team also looked at the current route of Campus Drive and the fact that there is no really direct connection between campus and town. It would be interesting to consider extending campus drive directly to West Washington in a straight line. It does impact a building and the library parking lot, but a change like this could strengthen the “Town & Gown” relationship. It could also work well with the trails and the stream. This would be a big change and one that we would like to keep talking about.
6. There will be proposals like the one for campus drive that are long-term visions for Bradford. It is important that the master plan also present more short-term and smaller proposals so that action can be taken while there is still momentum. Smaller achievements will maintain focus on the master plan and keep the momentum going. With this in mind, MCF chose to focus on a small area at Main Street and Mechanic Street. This area is in the Historic District, it includes the Tuna Creek, and it nearly touches the work planned for Boyleston Street. It also includes two major downtown intersections (Main & Mechanic, Mechanic & W. Washington) and within the area there are already a couple of businesses doing well that get a lot of foot traffic. The MCF proposal includes narrowing the portion of Pine Street that runs parallel to the stream and creating some housing and a boardwalk section of the trail along the creek in that area. There is also a proposed open-air market and some in-fill construction.
7. This Pine Street Development Area also shows an idea that could be considered for multiple locations on Main Street. Many of the upper floors along the street are vacant, and while an elevator might not be required (depending on the use) it does make using the upper floors more attractive to tenants. Ms. Maceyko reviewed the building elevations on Main Street and it appears that there are a number of building groups that have similar floor lines. MCF would propose that with the cooperation of adjacent building owners, an elevator and fire stair “core” could be built that would provide access for multiple buildings. This would allow owners to share the installation and maintenance costs of an elevator and providing interior fire stairs would eliminate the need for fire escapes. There are still a lot of nice, historic buildings on Main Street and finding ways to fill the upper floors of the buildings would not only draw people to town, but also activate downtown for more hours of the day.
8. Mr. Tripp presented the retail data that he has collected since the last meeting. The information is from Claritas and it looks at census information and retail supply and demand for a 1 mile, 5 mile and 20 mile radius circle centered on downtown Bradford (the middle of Main Street).
a. The U.S. population grew by 4.6% during the study period while the local population declined.
b. Local incomes are growing more slowly than the national average.
c. In the 1 mile radius study, there is a $76 million surplus, which tells us that downtown Bradford is a regional destination. There is more money
coming into the 1-mile radius than leaking out.
d. In the 5 mile radius study, there is a $32 million surplus.
e. In the 20 mile radius study (this includes Olean, NY), there is a $73 million demand not being met. There is more money leaving the 20-mile radius
than coming in.
f. These numbers tell us that a lot of retail is being captured in the Tuna Valley, but there is opportunity to capture more.
g. Mr. Tripp presented these figures broken out into categories to show which types of businesses are drawing people downtown and what goods people
are leaving the area to buy. These figures might be useful for new or existing retailers in the area. There are several categories of note. For example,
in the 5-mile study there is a big loss in the food/dining places category. Based on what we’ve heard, this could be about Tuna Valley residents
traveling to chain restaurants in Olean instead of staying closer to home.
h. The main trend that Mr. Tripp sees is that there are lots of purchases of everyday items in Bradford and lots of opportunity for things that are
purchased less frequently (furniture, lumber, clothing, electronics).
i. These categories can lead to discussions about zoning and what types of businesses belong in what areas.
9. Ms. Sarraf took some time to review the socio-economic data for the area since it has been a popular topic of discussion and because it helps to inform the zoning and housing decisions to be made. The data shows that although there are “undesirable” categories where Bradford is leading other local municipalities, it also showed that some of the statements the planning team has heard are exaggerated. The group has been told that 30-40% of the population is on welfare, when in fact it is 6% of city households. But the data also showed that 23% of the population (21-64 years old) are on disability and only 45% of them are employed. Some of these percentages need to have actual numbers applied to them to aid in separating fact from fiction in future meetings.
10. During this trip Ms. Sarraf will also be focusing on code enforcement issues and she will review Mr. Tripp’s retail data with the zoning committee.
11. Mr. Filoni commented that the psychological factors are an important part of this process. We can make plans to improve the buildings, the zoning code and the economy, but if no one believes that problems can be addressed then the plan isn’t going to go anywhere. Goals can be achieved one step at a time and things are not so bad in Bradford that they can’t be improved. Identifying realistic goals and addressing the negative attitude will be a part of the process, especially in the public meetings and all of our acts of engaging citizens in this process. At the University, the master plan took a comprehensive look at the whole campus while also identifying smaller goals. This will be harder in the three municipalities because it is a bigger place with more people and political influences, but that just means that those involved in the process need to help us engage as many people as possible. Simple steps like cleaning up can happen quickly and have a positive effect before anything else happens.
12. Mr. Tripp spoke briefly about the topic of Innovation and Technology as it relates to Bradford. The area has a strong and diverse local economy, but there is low employment in the information, professional and educational sectors. This is a concern and something that should be addressed in the plan. In addition, the three main elements needed for local entrepreneur-ship are technology, talent (human capitol) and financial capitol.
13. The meeting attendees then broke up into three discussion groups.
a. Group #1 was asked questions about local retail issues. Which retail gaps do you think are most critical or are most likely to be addressed in
downtown Bradford? What course of action would you suggest to meet this goal?
b. Group #2 was asked questions about Downtown Aesthetics and the Gateways into Bradford. What do you think are the critical priorities in improving
the downtown and gateways? Where should we focus our effort?
c. Group #3 was asked to discuss strategies to encourage Innovation and Technology in Bradford. What do you think is the best approach for promoting
new technological innovations? What support should be provided for local innovators and entrepreneurs?
d. Notes from group discussions will be posted in a separate document.
With no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned. The foregoing constitutes the major items accepted by the attendees. If there are any additions or corrections to these minutes, please notify the Architect.
Respectfully submitted,
MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Amy P. Maceyko, AIA, LEED AP