Remember when Broughton Street was deserted on Sunday afternoons?
Just a few years ago, Sunday afternoon shoppers would have found the big chains open, but many of the locally owned shops would be closed.
If you were a shopper, you’d have the sidewalk pretty much to yourself.
On Sunday afternoon around 4 p.m., I took a few minutes to check out the new Ann Taylor LOFT at 15 W. Broughton St. and the new J.Crew at 201 W. Broughton St.
I had been out running afternoon errands in the City Talk van, so I decided to drive downtown. Living just south of Forsyth Park, I typically walk or bike whenever I head north, so it had been a while since I had driven on Broughton Street.
From Habersham Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, every parking space on Broughton was taken, except for the occasional handicapped spots. Out of curiosity, I looped around to Congress Street and found the spaces were filled from MLK east to Abercorn.
Of course, parking downtown is generally not as difficult as some Savannahians believe. Despite the high demand for parking spaces and the low weekend turnover since the meters aren’t enforced, I assumed I’d find a spot on President Street between Bull and Abercorn streets. No problem.
Even though there are generally a significant number of under utilized on-street parking spaces just a few blocks south of Broughton, we really need to maximize the economic activity by opening up all those spaces around the federal buildings on Telfair Square.
Does anyone really think that those buildings are significant terrorist targets? Or that the parking restrictions would stop a bomber?
As I was wandering Broughton, about 30 people were lined up in the sun in front of Leopold’s Ice Cream. There was considerable pedestrian activity on every block, with diners enjoying the café tables at a number of restaurants, including Kayak Kafe and Flying Monk Noodle Bar.
I don’t have the data to back it up, but it’s my impression that a higher percentage of locally owned Broughton businesses are open on Sundays than in years past.
The new Ann Taylor LOFT and J.Crew are both lovely inside — lovely in that 21st century retail way, with warm merchandising and pleasant lighting. Both stores project a sense of self-containment so shoppers feel shielded from the street.
Local folks who object to the new stores’ presence might not recall that both of those spaces had been sitting empty for significant periods. Now there’s activity inside, which is helping fuel activity outside.
This is what vibrant retail districts look like, even on Sunday afternoons.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached at billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.