Football parking prices on the rise
Theresa Gopp drives up and down the side streets of Lawrence near Memorial Stadium looking to park. It’s always the same on Saturday afternoons when the Jayhawks play. The streets are packed and everywhere she looks, people are standing in yards holding signs: “PARKING: $25.”
With the recent success of the University of Kansas football team, people across the state have become excited. Season ticket sales are at an all-time high, meaning one thing, more people attending the games. Those people will have to pay more to park as well.
“If you don’t have a parking pass and don’t want to pay $30, it’s hard to find a free parking space,” Gopp said, a Kansas City, Mo., resident and former KU student.
Until recently, parking for football games was easy to find and cheap. Today, however, the football program has gotten better, making parking scarcer and expensive. People heading to the games have either a prepaid parking pass, plan to pay a local resident to park in their yard or hope to find a lucky parking space for free.
Yard Parking
Driving down Illinois Street, Alabama Street and up Tenth Street, homeowners hold up signs, “PARKING: $25.” Those fans that do not have a parking pass have the option of paying homeowners or tenant a fee to park in their yard. Prices differ from house to house, depending on proximity to Memorial Stadium.
Ryan Dieckgrafe, Derby, Kan., senior, is the former resident of 1027 Illinois St., located directly behind the north end of Memorial Stadium. He would charge fans $25 to park in his yard, allowing them to use his restroom and tailgate in the yard. “It was a great way to pay the bills,” said Dieckgrafe. “We would make about $100 to $150 a game, just to let people park in the yard.”
This year, people are charging up to $50 to allow people to park in their yard, a $25 raise from only a year ago. Dani Whittman, resident at 1005 Illinois St., raises the price for parking depending on the game. She and her roommates charge more for conference games, $25, and even more for rivalry games. “We are going to charge $50 for the K-State game this year because there will be a ton of people here.”
Parking Passes
The Athletics Department at the university is in charge of selling parking passes for football parking. Each pass costs $90, up from $75 only a year ago and $30 in 2002. Passes are only available for Williams Educational Fund, the fund-raising program of the Athletics Department. There are 13 parking lots, including a parking garage, available around Memorial Stadium, all of which are sold out this year. Which parking lot a donor gets to park in is dependent on the amount of money they give to the Athletics Department. The more money given, the better parking received.
Kassie Liebsch, Systems Administrator for the ticket office, says the sales of parking passes has gone up over the past year due in part to the exciting finish of the football team last season. “Last year, we sold about half of the spaces available. This year, every space has been sold. People are excited for this year’s team.”
Free Parking
The University does offer shuttle buses that take fans to memorial stadium from other parking lots around the campus. There are two pick-up stations located in the Burge Union parking lot and the Recreation Center parking lot. Parking is free and the shuttle costs $3 for a trip to and from the Memorial Stadium. Walking is always a possibility too. There are many other parking lots spread across the university campus. If walking isn’t a problem, these spaces are easy to find around the campus.
A final option for parking is pure luck. Some people are still able to find a free parking spot on the streets around Memorial Stadium. Theresa Gopp says if you get there early enough, spots along the street are available. “I like to tailgate, so I show up three of four hours before the game and am able to find a parking spot for free.”
Before the current success of this year’s football team, these free parking spots located around Memorial Stadium were easy to come by. People could show up just before kick-off, find a good parking spot and pay nothing. With the current hype and buzz, however, Saturdays at the University of Kansas have become the place to be.
So the next time you come watch the Jayhawks take the field, have either your parking pass, wallet or luck ready, because you are going to need one.
October 6, 2006
Before businesses come in, water must move out
Behind Ted Boyle's North Lawrence home stands the levee that prevents the Kansas River from wiping away much of his possessions and memories.
As a long-time resident and president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association for the last 11 years, Boyle remembers a time before the levee. He also remembers when North Lawrence had a grocery store and a coin-operated laundry.
"Before any economic development hits in North Lawrence, there will have to be storm water issues taken care of," said Boyle, who has worked with numerous entrepreneurs to bring businesses to this hamlet across the river from downtown.
At the end of 2005, the HNTB engineering firm published the North Lawrence Watershed Drainage, and the city has slowly started implementing some of the recommendations. Although relieved that the city initiated the study in the first place, Boyle admits the process will take time because of the major financial commitment necessary.
"$16 million has to be spent on the internal parts of North Lawrence to make it adequate for the residents that are here now; not new development," said Boyle. "$25 million needs to be spent out by the airport."
Boyle insists that the city should not saddle the residents of North Lawrence with the bill for these improvements. Instead, he hopes that the money can be found through other means.
One likely source for the funds would be a rate hike on the water bill for all Lawrence residents to help make repairs for existing neighborhoods. Boyle prefers that the developers pick up the bill future projects.
The city has already started implementing some of those recommendations when it replaced one water pump and repaired another, both of which are located near the intersection of Locust and North Second streets. However, the pipes that carry the water do not have the capacity to keep up with these pumps.
Matt Bond, the new storm water engineer for Lawrence, said he hoped the city could replace the pipes at Locust and North Second streets when the city widens and repairs the intersection in fall 2007 or spring 2008.
A similar situation exists near Fifth and Maple streets. While the city plans to convert a former sewage pumping station to a new storm water station soon, the existing pipes will not be large enough for the pumps to operate at full capacity.
There is no timetable for installing new pipes at Fifth and Maple, but even with the old pipes, the benefits of the new station will be immediate.
"That will be number one," Boyle said. "If that's redone, that will affect about 100 residents."
In the meantime, there are other new technologies that the city hopes will work to alleviate the flooding problem, including a new permeable concrete that should allow water to seep through into the soil underneath rather than running off into an already saturated area.
"It looks like a rice crispy treat," Bond said. The city would like to experiment with the new concrete soon, but first Bond must wait to hear how well it worked in other communities.
New building practices are now being enforced within the city limits with, and should help prevent the situation from worsening.
Meanwhile, Ted Boyle and other North Lawrence residents will have to continue driving across bridges when they need a grocery store, coin-operated laundry, pharmacy and hardware store.
"The city commission is trying to come up with the money." Boyle said.
Though the problems can't be fixed over night, Boyle and other North Lawrence residents can take some comfort in knowing that some progress is being made.
October 5, 2006
Patrons Compete with Employees for Downtown Parking Spots
In January 2004, the city of Lawrence raised the price of downtown parking meters from 25 cents for 90 minutes to 25 cents for 60 minutes. The intent of this increase was to keep up with inflation and to discourage downtown employees, business owners, and residents from parking in metered spots all day. Ideally, the metered spots should be for paying customers.
Most shop owners said that there have been no negative effects to their shops as a result of this increase but they cannot recognize any positive outcomes either. Dan Hughes, owner of Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop, 802-804 Massachusetts St., said, though business is “awesome,” he has seen no difference as a result of the parking meter increase. Greg Guenther, owner of Palace Cards and Gifts, 8 W. Eighth St., said the increase in parking meter prices has had “zero impact” on his store’s revenue, but he still perceives parking problems downtown.
The No. 1 problem he sees is employees who take a spot right in front of his store and feed the meter while they work their shift. That spot, he said, could be for one of his customers. He isn’t alone; many shop owners said that parking meter abuse from employees, residents, and business owners is still their main concern with the downtown parking situation.
For the total cost of $2, an individual can park in a prime location on the street for the entire eight-hour workday. That is the same price he or she would pay for a parking ticket. This is not a big risk for parkers, but it is a problem for shop owners. Many shop owners would like to see the city doing more to monitor parking and deter these daily downtown parkers from taking advantage of the best spots on and just off of Massachusetts Street.
Ed Mullins, City of Lawrence director of finance, said the original intent behind the increase was to prevent people from parking all day. Also, the increase was not designed to bring in revenue for the city but rather to keep up with inflation.
The City of Lawrence brought in $361,371 in revenue from parking meters in 2004. This was a $22,120 increase from the $339,251 it collected in 2003. In 2005, the revenue was up to $382,756. This is close to a six percent yearly increase in revenue for the city. Though the city did anticipate some increase, they expected less than they received. All the money collected from the parking meters has gone into a special fund to pay meter people and supervisors, cover maintenance and routine operating costs, and allow for recovery from meter theft.
Proprietor, Guenther, said he viewed parking meters as a “necessary evil.” “I think we have to have the meters just for control of those who would abuse the meters,” he said. Though, more may be required to gain this control.
Guenther suggested the city start chalking car tires, the same practice it does in the city parking lots, and ticketing people for parking over a certain amount of time. Increasing the price of parking tickets was another suggestion from a number of shop owners. When the price of a parking ticket is only $2, not many people are going to be concerned if they receive one. If an individual receives a parking ticket at the University of Kansas they can expect to pay between $10 and $20, with the risk of having their car towed after 3 tickets and the risk of an additional fine of $50 after 5 tickets. If the price of the $2 ticket downtown was increased, and if added risks were involved, people would be more cautious about how long they let their car sit at an unpaid meter, or over the designated time limit, if the chalking method was practiced.
Leslie Ahlert, whose family has owned Stitch on Needle Works Inc., 926 Massachusetts St., for 22 years, said that parking issues varied depending on the block. As employees and residents become aware of other parking options, they may be less likely to use the metered parking spots. There are parking lots on the 700 and 800 blocks and a lot and garage on the 900 block. The garage has been operating since late 2001. It was built in an effort to support downtown-parking and new developments in the area. Rick Marquez, director, Downtown Lawrence, Inc., 900 Massachusetts St., Suite 100, said that he parks in the garage and there are always available spaces. All of the lots and the garage offer two hours of free parking.
Ahlert also mentioned that about 50 percent of businesses have back door entrances. Many of these entrances are open to the public. She said they have learned to recognize business from the back.
Awareness may be one key in overcoming these parking concerns. As employees, residents, and business owners recognize other parking options and stores that open their back doors to traffic they may become less likely to use the metered parking spots.
City involvement may be another key. The city of Lawrence has a Downtown Parking Advisory Board in place to work through parking concerns. Pat Kehde, Co-owner of The Raven Bookstore, 6 E. Seventh St., has been a member of this board for over three years. She said, in regards to current parking issues the committee is working on, that she is "not informed." In the time since she joined the board, they have never met.
October 4, 2006
Going crazy for children
Blue Dandelion, 841 Massachusetts St., has created a universe dedicated to children; a universe in which, as Kim would say, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends know they will find the perfect outfit or gift.
“The unique stuff they have makes the shop great,” says Kim, who has many reasons other than being a mother for going to Blue Dandelion.
Parents and grandparents will buy almost anything for a baby. Children don’t have buying power. Yet, being a child is powerful enough to make parents and grandparents buy almost anything. Psychologists find various reasons to explain this trend, which Blue Dandelion expresses.
Each of us could evoke a grandmother, an aunt or a friend who goes crazy when shopping for a child, especially an infant. People also start shopping before the baby is even born. Doctor Pamela Botts, Interim Director for the Counseling and Psychological Services of Watkins Health Center, says that birth has always been a celebration. Buying gifts shows the appreciation of a new life.
“Parents see babies as helpless. They therefore deserve special care,” Botts said. She says this image has been used for commercial and consumerism purposes. Botts says that materialism has created a generation of “expensive-looking kids,” who reflect the parents’ status. She recognizes this status image doesn’t apply to everybody.
Claire Wong, who works for The Journal of Consumer Marketing, wrote in 2002: “Parents are motivated by good quality and design. […] Parents want to see their children look nice.” According to Wong, parents believe that good quality clothes put their children on a route to happiness. Wong said that parents rarely dressed up their children to impress others.
Botts says that babies have always been appealing to adults in general. “Parents are almost in trance with babies,” she said.
Kris Bailey, who owns Blue Dandelion with Meredith Rothrock, witnesses this phenomenon almost everyday. Bailey says future mothers wander in the boutique to get acquainted with the new life they’re about to start. The closer they get to their due date, the more often Bailey sees them. Bailey says that grandmothers start buying clothes way before mothers do.
Blue Dandelion opened on Oct. 7, 2005, as a high-quality furniture store for children’s rooms. Customers kept asking Bailey and Rothrock for clothes and other items. When they decided to change from a furniture boutique to a clothing one, Bailey said she wanted everybody who came into the store to be able to afford something. Because most of the furniture it sold was hand-made, Blue Dandelion mainly targeted higher-income families. Now, Blue Dandelion offers original products from all over the world, including Lawrence.
Your world tour starts in Canada, with Kushies newborn outfits, diapers, infant clothing and maternity wear. Then you will cross the Atlantic and move to Europe: Italian perfumes and body creams; French toys, ballerinas, dishware and Kaloo baby dolls; and German wooden toys and Kathe Kruse cloth dolls. Still farther East, you will find Bobux shoes, Oink Baby clothes and strollers, all from New Zealand. You can even escape the real world and buy some fuchsia baby driving shoes “Made in Heaven.”
Even though Blue Dandelion offers many international products, the boutique is a local business. People can ask Bailey and Rothrock to sell their work for them in the boutique. Blue Dandelion currently displays the work of 15 Lawrence and Kansas City artists. “People in Lawrence create practical well-made products,” Bailey said. Bailey and Rothrock get the rest of their articles from markets they attend all over the country. They are always willing to try new products.
Blue Dandelion isn’t the only place on Massachusetts Street where you can find gifts for children. Hobbs, 700 Massachusetts St., set up a shelf filled with children’s items. Hobbs proposes gadgets more than necessary articles. Baby driving shoes and logo T-shirts illustrate the trend of a cool-looking child. “Mothers love to show off their babies down the street,” says Jeremy Cain, who has been working at Hobbs for more than five years. “Shoes are our most popular items,” Cain says. “Mothers love shoes.” Cain says it’s really easy to spend $100 buying three articles.
Cinda Garrison owns Prairie Patches, 821 Massachusetts St., a shop known for customizing its article. Garrison says that everything in her shop has a moderate price, which often includes the baby’s name. She says she doesn’t see parents go crazy buying clothes for their children. “They don’t expect us to be expensive, so they don’t look at the price so much,” Garrison said. She does confess that being a grandmother herself, she will spend more money for her grandchildren than she did or will spend for her children.
Devon Kim started shopping at Blue Dandelion because one of her best friends was selling her works there. Kim said that the local artisans’ lines are one of the best things about the boutique. “Quality and style make shopping there enjoyable,” Kim said. Kim moved back to Lawrence two years ago. She said that Blue Dandelion reminded her of the boutiques she used to go to in Chicago for her son.
Kim buys everything from high-priced items to a pair of socks at Blue Dandelion. She says it’s very easy to spend $50 to $100. The total can sometimes reach bigger numbers. Bailey remembers a grandmother buying $450 worth of articles to ship to her granddaughter in Denver. The most expensive item Bailey sold was a hand-made baby bed. Bailey shipped bed and bedding to England for $7,781. The woman found the bed on Blue Dandelion’s Web site, www.bluedandelionkids.com. She was searching for high-quality furniture and her search directed her to Blue Dandelion’s Web site.
Kim has a special reason to enjoy shopping at Blue Dandelion; a reason no other customer could guess when seeing her in the boutique. Kim, who is from Lawrence, said she grew up shopping with her mother at Campbells, a clothing store on Massachusetts Street. Now that she’s back in town, Kim’s son and future daughter will grow up with her, shopping at the same place Kim went with her mother. Campbells closed and Blue Dandelion opened. The name changed. The location stayed the same.
Under Pressure: Local Music Stores In The Digital Age
On this day, Steve Wilson, manager of Kief’s Downtown Music, glances up at the lone patron in his establishment after sending a text message to an acquaintance.
With the light sounds of a jazz trio playing in the background, Wilson thoughtfully leans back in a swivel chair and acknowledges, “I started in this business in 1973…and on the one hand, yes - everything has changed but then again, the adage ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’ remains true as well.”
“What’s Goin’ On?”
Simply put, most of the music industry has gone digital. The spread of the ipod and alternate sources of music have already caused music stores such as Vibe, Seventh Heaven and the short-lived Threads ‘N Tunes to close operations in the past couple of years. It begs the question: are these shutdowns a result of a failure to adapt or are they an omen for other long-time local music retailers?
Some industry insiders claim the days of the local music store are numbered. “Similar to how records turned to eight-tracks, to tapes, and then to CD’s, we are now living in the digital age,” says Aaron Kayce, editor of the San Francisco-based online music magazine, Jambase.com. “No one expects CD’s to die overnight, but the effects of digital music have already crippled the old model.”
The “old model” is based on customers shopping at music stores for full-length albums. Whereas all the previous changes in recording technology fit within the old model, the digital age offers no such comfort for music stores. “The major difference here is that when we had records, tapes, CDs, they still needed to be pressed in some form and physically sold, either in your local record store or online,” said Kayce. “This is no longer the situation. Major record labels and local record stores are freaking out trying to figure out how to live in this model, and many of them will die.”
Following the demise of national retail giant Wherehouse Records, Tower Records filed for bankruptcy in August, prompting Mike Fitzgerald of Recordnet.com to comment that “compared with an ipod, a brick and mortar CD store looks like an elephant. A hip, tattooed elephant, maybe, but one still lumbering through the digital savannah.”
The Digital Effect on Music Consumption
For the casual music consumer, buying online has its advantages. “I’ve never been a big music buyer, but I have purchased more music on itunes in the last two years than I ever have in a store,” said IT Analyst and Lawrence resident, Tom Seymour. “I find that I have a better selection and I really like the fact that I can get free 30-second previews. Some music stores have headphones set up to preview popular albums, but I never really liked much of that stuff.”
The conversion from tangible commodities to the digital era was not immediate, but rather took a few years to hit full stride.
Perhaps the most telling statistic documenting the ipod revolution is a July 2006 survey by the New Jersey research group, Student Monitor, showing that ipod use has become the most popular activity among college students, beating out “drinking beer” by a narrow margin. The meteoric rise of the ipod is clearly seen in the percentages of college students responding that ipods were “in” during the last three years: 22% in 2004, 59% in 2005 and 73% this year.
Ipods aren’t the only threat to the traditional music store. In September, Myspace.com announced the creation of its own online music store, which will be operational by the end of the year.
Adapting to Survive
The traditional model for local music stores may have changed, but that doesn’t mean the remaining stores are circling the wagons and preparing a white flag.
Steve Wilson offers a bemused grin, saying “It’s a mixed blessing. If you consider the restriction of radio formats and the fact that MTV doesn’t play music anymore, where else are people going to hear music but the internet? There’s a percentage of people where that’s enough: they can put that on itunes and…they got to hear a few songs and they’re fine with just that. But then there are going to be some customers who hear that and go “yeah, but I want the whole thing.”
Wilson harbors few illusions about consumers shifting their purchasing habits, and said “So far it’s not particularly more cost-effective to download entire programs than it is to buy the album. But there are always matters of convenience.” To that end, Wilson and Kief’s Downtown have adapted their business model to mirror demand. Itunes and other online music sources may have a wide variety of music, but they don’t have as many of the “up and coming” bands which audiophiles have come to expect from Kief’s. Wilson estimates that 40-50% of their business comes from independent labels, aided largely by the store’s status as a founding member of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores.
Aside from establishing themselves in that niche market, Kief’s has broadened its reach from the confines of Massachusetts Street. “We now have a store on ebay called musicdowntown, which we started about a year and a half ago.” By doing so, Kief’s is now able to offer their more obscure artists to a broader audience. With respect to the content of the online store, Wilson said “We’ve used it mainly to sell closeout stuff. For those things where there’s not necessarily a customer. Generously, our trade area is 3 million people. Immediately, it’s about 90,000. We could get customers from Topeka, Wichita, or Kansas City, obviously, but anytime you throw something up for auction on ebay, 40 million people get to see it.”
“The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same”
The music industry has traditionally embraced the idea of making certain songs popular, and cajoling people into purchasing full albums. Their obstacle now is to continue to fill a need when consumers have turned off the radio and turned on the computer. As local music stores and national retail giants have both fallen to the wayside in steadily increasing numbers, the trend gives Wilson cause to pause. “Will there be a place for what we call ‘record stores’ in 40 years? Maybe not.”
For Steve Wilson and other local music stores, it isn’t that their business has changed. It’s that the old model of doing business is gradually slipping away. The challenge is how to respond to the customer’s ever-changing needs. Being an independent merchant certainly makes things easier, said Wilson “You’re always more limber when you’re independent. You’re freer to respond to the changes of the marketplace. It comes down to knowing your customers, taking care of them and getting your name out there to the larger public as cost-effectively as you can.”
The old way of doing business – waiting for the customer to enter the storefront – may be past its prime, but as long as local music stores give people a reason to come back, they may still maintain a steady base of loyal customers. For Wilson, it still comes back to a familiar formula: “The success of the local music store…is going to be completely dependent on how well we maintain relationships with customers. In addition to doing your job for the brick and mortar customer, little things like having the online presence help to keep you around.”
Delivery Woes
According to Seattlegasprices.com, which contains records of gas prices from many cities around the country, the price of gasoline hit an average high of $3.06 in the state of Kansas on Aug. 8. From April 22 until Aug. 20, the average price never dropped below $2.63 a gallon, and prices regularly hovered near $2.80 a gallon. For delivery drivers, who often go through a tank of gas or more each week, the cost of making money was becoming worrisome.
“When you have a good night and you’re filling up half a tank, when gas prices were up, you’d make $30 or $40, and you’d end up putting $15 or $20 right back into your tank,” said Andrew Kasson, a delivery driver for Wheat State Pizza. “When gas prices go up, we lose some drivers because it’s not worth their time, if they’re not going to make enough money.”
Daniel Miller, a manager at Gumby’s Pizza, said that they raised their delivery fee from 75 cents to $1.00 to help the drivers afford to keep working. Similar increases were made at several other Lawrence delivery businesses. Pizza Hut and Pyramid Pizza raised their delivery fees by 25 cents, and Wheat State Pizza is considering a fee increase should the price of gas drastically rise again. Mr. Goodcents, a sub sandwich restaurant that operates a delivery service, raised their delivery fee from $1.50 to $2.00 per delivery, but recently lowered it back to $1.50 as the gas prices dropped.
The increased fees helped drivers ease the burden of the increased gas prices, but some saw a decrease in tips as a result of the increased fees.
“When the customer gets charged more, they know it’s going to us, and they don’t tip as much,” said Graham Caruthers, a delivery driver for Mr. Goodcents.
Other drivers blame the price of gas itself for lower tips.
“Yeah, (my tips) went down drastically. Not only does the gas price go up, tips go down because people are trying to save money,” said Ty Lower, a delivery driver for Pizza Shuttle.
Not all drivers felt that their tips had decreased as a result of the increased cost of fuel. Ryan Patton, a delivery driver for Jimmy John’s, said that the price of gas didn’t really affect his tips at all. Tim Cunningham, a driver for Pyramid Pizza, agreed.
“(Some) people don’t tip at all. It has nothing at all to do with how fast you got their pizza there, or anything. It depends on whether they’re jerks or not, that’s all,” said Cunningham.
Delivery drivers recently received a boon, however, as the average gas price in Kansas has dropped nearly a dollar from its August high. Through the month of September, the average price of gas in Kansas has been below $2.40 a gallon, with prices falling under $2.00 at times. But while it cost less for the drivers to fill up their tank, some drivers found that their tips weren’t seeing a proportional increase.
“The tips have stayed pretty much the same. I think people are thinking the gas price is going to go back up,” said Caruthers. “They haven’t tipped more generously.”
Cunningham agreed, noting that it depends more on the individual person rather than any universal influence like gas prices. Other drivers, however, have noticed a significant difference.
“Business has increased, tips have increased, and gas prices have gone down, so
good times again,” said Lower.
Kasson also reported higher tips, and said that it makes it a lot easier for a driver to make ends meet when the gas prices go down.
Damm agreed.
“It’s fair to say that I’m noticeably making more money. I’m spending a lot less at the pump. And that’s a good thing.”
Farmers' Market’s Relocation Does Not Promote Local Businesses
Only a block from the Casbah boutique though, the Lawrence Farmers' Market is buzzing from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Saturday. According to market coordinator Mercedes Taylor-Puckett, around 3,000 people visit the place every Saturday morning. The Farmers' Market, initiated in 1976 to promote downtown Lawrence, relocated at the beginning of the season to 824 New Hampshire. Thus, the market moved even closer to downtown businesses; it was located at 742 Vermont before. But even though the market is jam-packed on Saturday mornings, most downtown retail businesses do not benefit from the amount of people coming by.
"I think the market could help draw people downtown. And it would be great if it did," Susan Garnett, owner of Black-Eyed Susan's antiques shop, said. "But we do not see more customers just because the market moved closer." Clyde Godfrey, sales assistant at Eangee Home Design, said that he thought people simply did not feel like shopping after having taken a stroll over the market. "They come to the market to get fruits, vegetables and other stuff. They don't want to carry that around, so they go home."
Market Coordinator Taylor-Puckett can relate to that. "The market customers would have to think ahead. We'd like to tell them, 'Bring your ice box, put your stuff in there and go shopping downtown,' but at the moment we simply don't have the money to do so," she said.
Terri Faunce, Casbah boutique owner, said that different business hours kept people from visiting downtown. "The market opens too early and closes too early. Maybe they should be open a little longer." According to Taylor-Puckett, the market is busiest at around 9 a.m. But she cannot change business hours. „Technical constraints keep us from changing them, since in the summer it can get extremely hot around noon. Farmers' have a hard time keeping their fruits and vegetables fresh," Taylor-Puckett said. "It's also a farmer's tradition to get up and sell early in the day."
This reflects the way Farmers' Market customers judge the case. Lawrence resident Mina Nguyen said that opening early gave the market its charm. "People come downtown in order to go to the market. Personally, I think it's a good reason to get up earlier." Nguyem does not necessarily connect the market with downtown businesses. "We're not asking for retail, we are asking for food."
Though Farmers' Markets' customers do not shop on Massachusetts Street afterwards, some of them choose to have breakfast there instead. Coffee shops such as Henry's, Wheatfield or the Marketplace are crowded on Saturday mornings. Thus, at least the coffee shops benefit from the relocation. "Saturday is our busiest day anyway, but I observed a 25 percent to 30 percent increase in customers over the last few months," Greg Renck, owner of the Marketplace, said. "We even buy some stuff at the Farmers' Market." Wheatfield kitchen manager Lacy Larson also attributes good Saturday sales to the market. "We always profited from it. On Saturdays, we always have a Farmers' Market special."
Retail business owners, however, are on the lookout for better sales that are not in view. Downtown Lawrence Inc., a not-for-profit membership organization created to promote the interests of the downtown business district, supports the Farmers' Market while at the same time representing business owners. DLI provides general liability insurance for the market. According to market coordinator Taylor-Puckett, the policy is worth an annual $1,500 to $3,000. The stall fees - fees that farmers pay to get permission to sell their products on the market - remain with the Famers' Market. The farmers also pay an additional membership fee of $30 per year.
DLI fees for downtown businesses range from $150 to an average of $300 annually depending on the type of membership. The Farmers' Market or the farmers are not part of DLI. "We do not pay a fee at the moment but the DLI considers us members," Taylor-Puckett says. "But I think it would be good to play a more active role soon." Rick Marquez, DLI director, said that the Farmer's Market was part of the organization. "We support them by providing office space and facilities," he said. "It is no work for us to support them. We do whatever we can do."
Market coordinator Taylor-Puckett is looking forward to working together with downtown business owners in a more distinct way. In cooperation with Rick Marquez she hopes to initiate a coupon campaign. "If business owners are willing to join us, we will hand out coupons that are only available on the market thus motivating people to go shopping downtown," she said.
So, even though the market does not help promote downtown businesses at the moment, DLI director Rick Marquez is proud to support the market. "The market shows that Downtown Lawrence is the center of activity," Marquez said. "And what we want in the first place, is get people downtown." Marquez and his family live on Massachusetts Street and visit the market regularly. Since it is difficult to change the markets' business hours, Marquez has another suggestion for shop owners: "If the customer asks you to open earlier, wouldn't you do that?"
For market coordinator Taylor-Puckett, this season has been particularly remarkable. "We're just delighted. The number of customers grew by 25 to 50 percent." Taylor-Puckett said. "And we would be happy to share that success with downtown businesses." Yet, at the moment, it was all a matter of time and money, she said. Taylor-Puckett and DLI director Marquez are both new to their offices. "So once we both settle in, we'll find ways to cooperate," Taylor-Puckett said. Rick Marquez took over the DLI office at the beginning of May. He is also planning to improve the cooperation between the market and downtown businesses. "I talked to business owners and they were really receptive," Marquez said. "As we have more time we can start working together."
That is what boutique owner Terri Faunce is looking for: people who care. She is not a member of DLI anymore. "It costs money and I cannot really see the advantage at the moment," she says. "So I spend the many on inventory. But I definitely want to be involved." With the market season ending in November, Faunce said she did what she could to get through Christmas. She hopes for a change. Not now, but maybe with spring season being rung in.