Springville doing a shopping poll

SPRINGVILLE — When folks who live here open letters from the Springville Downtown Business Alliance this week the future of downtown shopping could spill out.

Alliance leaders hope the 26-question community survey being sent to some 10,000 Springville and Mapleton residents will lead to a more vibrant historic downtown.

With a Wal-Mart perched on the edge of town, local merchants want to know what they can do to stay in business, and Wal-Mart has indicated it wants to help. In many communities even the suggestion of a Wal-Mart brings controversy as residents and local business worry about the low-cost competition's impact on the area economy.

"We actually have a good relationship with Wal-Mart," said Daniel Bolz, executive director of the Springville Downtown Business Alliance.

"We have a good base with the people here," said Wal-Mart co-manager Nathaniel Smith, who said the rapport extends to downtown merchants, as well.

Smith said the former Wal-Mart manager attended downtown alliance meetings and noted that responsibility will now fall to him.

Bolz said the alliance doesn't want to compete with the retail giant. He said the focus will be on offering a different shopping experience downtown.

Other Utah communities are doing similar surveys as part of their association with the state's Main Street program. Logan recently completed its survey and found residents there would like to see more specialty stores.

"We feel that will happen here," Bolz said.

Specialty stores are different from traditional shopping centers found in Utah County and along the I-15 corridor, he said. The Springville translation would fit with its cultural arts theme and nickname, Art City.

That could lead to adding trendy restaurants to the after-hours events such as plays and musical events that are currently popular in the city. Another effort might be to encourage art galleries and framing stores to remain open longer into the evenings.

"The Main Street program is the most tried and true program to resurrect Main Streets," Bolz said. "Fifteen hundred communities across the United States have used it or are using it in fixing up their Main Streets."

The program has matured enough that the ideas the program offers have matured into principles that work, Bolz said.

The survey is a key component. When the community became involved in the National Main Street program, of which Utah is a member, the survey became a first step, Bolz said.

"Before alliances get going we need to determine what shopping areas are not serving local residents," he said.