Historic Preservation
We all know where our Main Streets are, but do we know what they are and why they matter? Whether they are named First Avenue or Water Street or Martin Luther King Boulevard, what they represent is universal. Main Street is the economic engine, the big stage, the core of the community. Our Main Streets tell us who we are and who we were, and how the past has shaped us. We do not go to bland suburbs or enclosed shopping malls to learn about our past, explore our culture, or discover our identity. Our Main Streets are the places of shared memory where people still come together to live, work, and play.
The phrase "Main Street" has been used to describe everything from our nostalgic past to our current economic woes, but when we talk about Main Street, we are thinking of real places doing real work to revitalize their economies and preserve their character. Specifically, Main Street Citizens believe we must preverse these historic landmarks through education and advocacy. Afterall, our past is our future.
Healthy Communities
Healthy communities is a Main Street Citizens value. It always has been. And for good reason: clean, safe and healthy communities improve health and productivity, and reduces absenteeism and business health costs.
Not only this, healthy communities are integral to the success of America’s small businesses. While big corporations can dump pollution in a community and then close up shop and move somewhere else without their CEOs or shareholders ever having to breathe the local air, small businesses can’t. Small business owners, their employees, and their customers all breathe the same air.
That’s why the health of our communities is a Main Street Citizens value. And that’s why we’ll keep fighting for standards that protect clean air, protect the public health, and protect local communities and local economies.
Economic Prosperity
Shopping malls gained stature in many corners of America by evolving into mini-cities, places where senior citizens took exercise walks and Girl Scout troops sold cookies. Some malls leased space to Post Offices and libraries. On Halloween, the mall became a place to trick-or-treat and come Christmas time, it was where Santa Claus spent the day accepting wish lists.
In short, the most successful malls usurped the role of Main Street as the commercial and even cultural center of the communities they served. Now, however, many shoppers want Main Street back.
Outdoor town center concepts, featuring brick sidewalks, streetlights and even public clocks evoking the Main Street of yore, are climbing to a degree that many owners of enclosed malls are considering dramatic makeovers, some including plans to tear off the roof of, or “de-mall” enclosed shopping centers.
This only highlights the economic importance that our Main Streets have in our local communities.
Infrastrucutre and Safety
Pedestrians and Cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users on our Main Streets. Below are some projects Main Street Citizens support for improving the safety of non-motorised users:
- Sidewalks of suitable width for the expected pedestrian traffic
- Pedestrian crossings close to the desire line which allow pedestrians to cross roads safely
- Segregated pedestrian routes and cycle lanes away from the main highway
- Traffic calming and speed humps
- Low speed limits that are rigorous enforced
- Shared space schemes giving ownership of the road space and equal priority to all road users, regardless of mode of use
The proper infrasturuce Main Streets is critical to ensure that all residents are safe and secure.
