Parking On The Square: Will It Help Business?
City Opens 27 New Parking Spots On Capitol Square
Posted: 5:45 pm CDT May 9, 2005Updated: 6:08 pm CDT May 9, 2005
MADISON, Wis. -- For the first time in three decades, everyday citizens can park on the outer loop of the Capitol Square in downtown Madison.Retailers are saying hooray, even though there are just 27 new spaces. But that's better than the current perception that there is no place to park downtown.
The return of parking to the square made many reminisce about old days -- when downtown shopping was in its heyday."I was looking around, thinking about when we used to have 50 to 60 retailers on the square," said Al Goldstein who owned Carmen's. "The square is still the lifeblood of Madison.""Everybody loved to come downtown," said Bob Schmitz who owned The Hub. "You had to go downtown. Go around the Square. That's where everything was happening."But with the advent of shopping malls, the pulse of the city began to grow faint. And as shoppers departed so did their parking stalls, reported News 3's Joel DeSpain.Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said new parking will be new business downtown."These gentleman were involved with businesses on the square when it was what we hope to make it again someday," said Cieslewicz, who officially unveiled the parking stalls at noon Monday."We can all agree what we have here to celebrate is the future of our downtown -- one that is sure to be thriving, bustling, prosperous," said Stacy Nemeth, chair of he Business Improvement District.Peg Scholtes, proprietor of Capitol Kids, is part of a new generation of urban pioneers staking out retail claims on the square. Scholtes told News 3 that 27 stalls may not seem like a lot, but it is to people like her."For us one or two sales a day makes a big difference between a good day and a bad day," Scholtes said. "This is the part of the city that really totally belongs to everybody."
City leaders said the lack of parking is not reality, but a very real perception.Gerri Gurman was proud to be the first to pull into on the 27-metered spots Monday."Downtown is the heart of the city," Gurman said. "It's the history of the city and it's important to keep that vibrancy alive."Compared with other Madison political struggles and projects, adding the parking happened in warp speed -- just 18 months. Cieslewicz said he had hoped to bring back angle parking, but that did not work with bus traffic.
The return of parking to the square made many reminisce about old days -- when downtown shopping was in its heyday."I was looking around, thinking about when we used to have 50 to 60 retailers on the square," said Al Goldstein who owned Carmen's. "The square is still the lifeblood of Madison.""Everybody loved to come downtown," said Bob Schmitz who owned The Hub. "You had to go downtown. Go around the Square. That's where everything was happening."But with the advent of shopping malls, the pulse of the city began to grow faint. And as shoppers departed so did their parking stalls, reported News 3's Joel DeSpain.Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said new parking will be new business downtown."These gentleman were involved with businesses on the square when it was what we hope to make it again someday," said Cieslewicz, who officially unveiled the parking stalls at noon Monday."We can all agree what we have here to celebrate is the future of our downtown -- one that is sure to be thriving, bustling, prosperous," said Stacy Nemeth, chair of he Business Improvement District.Peg Scholtes, proprietor of Capitol Kids, is part of a new generation of urban pioneers staking out retail claims on the square. Scholtes told News 3 that 27 stalls may not seem like a lot, but it is to people like her."For us one or two sales a day makes a big difference between a good day and a bad day," Scholtes said. "This is the part of the city that really totally belongs to everybody."
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