The Bradford Area Business Group has assembled a survey to
garner ideas from merchants, tenants and businesses in the downtown
on how to make the area operate as a more cohesive unit.
“It’s to make them feel they are part of the downtown area,”
explained Diane Sheeley, executive director of the Bradford Area
Chamber of Commerce. The Business Group is part of the chamber.
“I live in Foster Hollow,” Sheeley said, giving an example of
the intent of the survey. “I’m friends with people who live there.
We look out for each other. We’re trying to create that same sense
of neighborhood in the downtown.”
She explained that last year, City Councilman Tom Riel did an
impromptu survey of the Historic District and found that many
merchants were dissatisfied with the downtown conditions. As a
result, the Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corp. held two special
meetings to discuss downtown problems and to establish plans to
address those problems.
The chamber’s survey was a result of those meetings, Sheeley
said.
“The information will be boiled down and used as the Bradford
Area Business Group looks ahead, as the Main Street Manager looks
ahead, as the DBRC looks ahead,” she said. Another special meeting
will be called when the information is assembled.
Anyone else interested in the results can contact the chamber
for information.
She explained that the surveys are due back soon, and within the
next week, student volunteers from the entrepreneurial program at
the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will begin calling those
who have yet to respond “to at least get an answer on whether they
intend to reply,” Sheeley said.
She explained about 300 surveys were sent out, one to every
merchant, tenant, business and organization the chamber could come
up with to send them to. Anyone who didn’t get one should contact
the chamber for an opportunity to let their opinions be known.
Individual responses are confidential. Only summary information
will be released.
“The only way we would contact you is if you checked that you
wanted to help,” Sheeley said. “Who said what is not high on my
priority list. The big picture is important.”
She added that some of the downtown issues are obvious, and what
is needed now is someone to voice a willingness to step up and
address them.
“The cleanliness and condition of Veterans Square … that is a
problem, but it is going to take someone to adopt it like you do a
highway,” she said, referring to a program under the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation.
“On the survey, one of the questions is ‘are you willing to take
a leadership role?’ If you have people willing to point out the
problems and none willing to take on the solutions, that stands in
the way of momentum.”
She added another issue already brought to light is a problem
with public relations – “acknowledging the good that is getting
done. Sometimes we look at the trash in the Square instead of what
is getting done there.”
Pointing to one positive for Main Street, Sheeley said the Betty
Jane Monjar Garden Committee has purchased hanging baskets for
placement on the historic looking light poles. And the Blaisdell
Foundation is purchasing the flowers to go in them.
“That is not an inexpensive task,” she said. “They are willing
to take the proceeds from an event they invested in and give back
to the community.”
And now people should ask themselves “how can I respect that?”
Sheeley said. Picking up trash on the street under a basket is a
good place to start.
