Dayton Daily News editor Dan Riley has been op-edding on behalf of downtown regeneration for the past year or so.  Here is the latest, on a forthcoming downtown plan. Dayton is fortunate that we have a paper who's editorial page has come around on behalf of the center city:

 

Here's Your Change to Help Shape Downtown

 

Led by Michael Ervin, a retired physician and health insurance executive, and supported by the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the planning effort is not yet complete. Citizens are still being asked for input.

 

And while the process is going slower than scheduled, Ervin and others are insistent that input and buy-in are more important than speed.

 

The article continues with the following bullet points and details for each, the focus areas of the plan

 

Being Bicycle Friendly (street improvements to make downtown amenable to cyclists)

 

Hidden Treasure (about the underutilized fibre optic system that was installed for traffic lights but has excess capacity, presumably as a lure to business)

 

Downtown Housing (talk of up to 5,000 additional units, and a talk of a "private equity investment fund" to finance housing)

 

The article concludes with dates and times for a public vieiwing/input session.

...and I invite readers to form an impromptu Urban Ohio boarding party:  follow the link to the op-ed and post some positive comments to contradict the usual deluge of negativity (so far already one "Dayton is Dead, Dead, Dead!" comment). 

 

 

Talking to DDN forumers and expecting a rational answer is the equivelant of taking a leaf blower into a porta-potty, blowing down the hole, and expecting gold to come out.

 

I might check it out if I have time, though :)

The idea is not to talk to them or convince, but to provide a positive buzz or spin to counteract the naysaying.  More about influencing people who might just surf in and read and not comment.

^Yeah, didn't think about that.

 

Hopefully, the average reader will be able to regard the postings as bullsh*t, but if not, there really should be a positive voice. I'll swing by and do some posting when I have some time, and hopefully others will, too :)