Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why are City of Silverton employees pressuring Silverton's Urban Renewal Agency (the city council) to eliminate cars from Main Street and make it into a 'pedestrian plaza?'

A: The Downtown Street Scape process has been underway since 2007. To imply that City Staff is some how "strong-arming" the URA/Council is simply laughable, as the council are in effect, their bosses. The reality is that City staff is composed of numerous hard-working men and women that have nothing but the best interests of Silverton in mind, and their actions are directed by the Council.

Q: Isn't there a Nation-wide failure rate of similar pedestrian developments of almost 80%?

A: Even if you include as a definition of "failure," converting a pedestrian space back to automotive use, this figure does not hold up. No source for this percentage was given, nor was the context. However, there is plenty of real data that shows otherwise.

Q: But didn't 100% of the downtown Silverton businesses who would be directly affected by this project vote "NO" to the change?

A: There was no "vote" in the traditional sense of the term. It is true that 100% of the downtown Silverton businesses signed a petition stating that they were opposed to the change, in an unscientific and biased canvassing of opinions.

Q: Why are our city employees trying to kill our business district?

A: The idea that City staff, trained in municipal planning, would knowingly and willfully propose a project with the clear knowledge that it would impart deleterious effects upon the retail community, is insulting to those men and women who work in this field of endeavor.

Q: Isn't there some hidden agenda that is guiding City staff, into forcing us to block off this one street, eventually leading to a domino effect, where the entire town is blocked off from all vehicular traffic?

A: The simple fact is that a few vocal opponents of this project have misled and scared businesses with hyperbole, dioramas and color handbills, into believing that this project would "spell economic doom" to downtown, contrary to what the data shows.

Q: Won't this reduce shoppers' access to the businesses on the street, by eliminating on-street parking on Main Street?

A: Actually, it will increase shoppers access, safety and the overall shopping experience, due to the fact that they will not have to worry about vehicular traffic, and can quickly and easily cross the street to visit additional businesses without having to run to the end of the block to use the crosswalk.

Q: Why does City staff blissfully ignoring the concerns of the American motoring public, who we all know will refuse to shop in Silverton if they can't find a parking spot in front of their destination?

A: The thought that removing pieces of metal from one section of town would spell economic doom is totally unfounded. The logic of the situation is that there would, at most, be an extra 140 feet that people would have to walk. If a business was going to fail simply because people would have to walk an additional 140 feet, then they have much more to worry about than a restored town square.

Q: What if Silverton turns into a ghost town, populated only by idlers and vagabonds who like the privacy of a relatively deserted space to ply their trade?

A: Spiritualism aside, we need to actively promote idlers and vagabonds, as their trade helps fuel our economy. The idler and vagabond market has been neglected and ignored for far too long. It is time to right this ancient wrong, and restore Silverton's Town Square, for idlers, vagabonds and all!