dkSez : : : : : : Don Kahle's blog

A string of government centers — city, county and courts all have Eighth Avenue addresses — cannot make a Great Street. Unless your civic buildings are so monumental that people will walk to gawk, people won’t want to go there. They’d rather shop or eat or drink.

Eugene’s city staff should throw open its permit window and offer anyone with an August celebration idea the opportunity to try it this year with as little regulatory interference as possible. Give restaurants and downtown bars a weekend of sidewalk serving privileges for minimal or no expense. If we want a thousand flowers to bloom, staying out of their way is a good place to begin.

If we declare as a community that we will no longer support or subsidize surface parking lots in our city center, we’ll get there that much quicker. We’re already close.