How can downtown Fredericksburg be improved?

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People listen to the presentation Monday morning.

Free wireless Internet, a movie theater and performing arts center, more outdoor dining, better parking, increased utilization of the waterfront and additional special events would all make downtown Fredericksburg more inviting.

Those are among the recommendations of the “Fredericksburg Downtown Gang,” a seven-member group that was part of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s most recent Leadership Fredericksburg class.

The group — Gene Brown, Courtney Chapman-Thomas, Roger Carroll, Alan Edwards, Ann Lewis, Wayne Perry and Leigh Snyder – was tasked to develop an economic restructuring strategy for downtown. They spent months visiting other thriving downtowns, developing a 29-question survey that received about 1,100 responses and analyzing the results.

On Monday morning the group presented the survey results and recommendations for downtown to about 60 members of the local community in Fredericksburg City Council chambers. Attendees included members of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority, downtown merchants, City Council officials and the city’s manager.

Brown noted during Monday’s presentation that the city has many resources in place to create a thriving downtown — including a college, train station, river, historic character and easy access to Interstate 95. But only 21 percent of the survey-takers rated downtown as “good,” with the rest calling it “fair” or “needs improvement.”

The main thrust of the group’s results was that people are attracted downtown more for experiences than shopping. That means eating at restaurants, attending festivals, going to markets, enjoying the riverfront and more. Many survey-takers want a downtown movie theater and grocery store as well as national chains mixed in with local businesses with regular hours.

Many of the “Downtown Gang’s” recommendations involve improving the experience for tourists and area residents. That means additional parking, better signage, free wireless Internet throughout downtown, regular events in public spaces, rooftop dining and more. The group also called for more marketing to increase public awareness of what downtown offers and upcoming events.

EDA member Chris Hornung praised the group for the survey and recommendations.

“It feels like something we paid tens of thousands of dollars for,” he said Monday.

The survey results and recommendations and are posted here.

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