Mansfield City Council members accompanied John Fernyak, President of Engwiller Properties, on a trip to Wooster to learn how that city developed its downtown into a thriving region with special attention to their conversion of one-way streets to two-way. Fernyak suggested the Wooster tour at the October 1 Mansfield city council meeting.
Fernyak offered to fund the conversion. Given the debate on whether or not to convert Mansfield’s one-way streets (Main and Diamond Streets) to two-way traffic, one of the main reasons of the visit was to hear about how Wooster’s conversion from one-way to two-way streets affected the downtown.
Mansfield representative on the tour included Mansfield City Council members Sam Dunn, Ellen Haring, Pat Hightower, Garnetta Pender, and Council President Phil Scott.Also attending were City Engineer Bob Bianchi, Downtown Mansfield, Inc. President Eddie Harris, and John Fernyak.
Executive Director of Main Street Wooster Sandra Hull stated, “Going from one-way to two-way street conversion is just part of the process of making sure that you create a district that is viable. It is not the only answer.”
Main Street Wooster actively fosters healthy growth in the city’s downtown. The program started in 1985 and took measures to encourage development in downtown in 1987. One of those methods included two-way street conversion, which took place in 1990; however, East Liberty St. along with other side streets had already been converted to two-way prior to that time.
“To tell you the truth, the first couple of years I didn’t think [the program] was going to fly. We had almost 50 percent empty storefronts, it was dirty, and everybody said the downtown was dead or dying,” shared Hull.
However, Main Street Wooster collaborated closely with the local government on the project, along with local individuals who wanted to invest money into the downtown buildings.
Hull noted that Main Street Wooster has a pledge contribution system in which its board goes out every three years and asks for contributions from industries and banks, and these companies give because they want to see Main Street Wooster succeed.
Wooster reduced its downtown storefront vacancies from 50 percent to less than five percent, and approximately 60 new businesses have opened.
“You have to spend time talking to the Sandra’s, the downtown business owners, the investors of the city to try to get everybody pulling the same way,” said Wooster Mayor Bob Breneman.
He added, “You have to have an identity as a community. Find your community’s purpose. And then gather people around you that have the burn in their belly to make that happen.”
Also sharing insight on the vitality of Wooster’s downtown area was Tim Monea, Wooster’s Chief Building Official and Development Coordinator Jonathan Millea.
As part of their visit, the Mansfield attendees were able to walk through downtown and view the scenic additions and renovations.
Pender stated, “[The trip] didn’t change my opinion, but it did bring to mind some things that we should be implementing and some things that we should try to bring forward.”
She continued to comment on the two-way conversion, stating, “I’m still torn. I like the one-way. I’m not really sure about the two-way…But I’m willing to listen to see what’s out there. I’m not closed-minded.”
Dunn shared, “I think [the trip] opened my eyes that there’s got to be a total buy-in: the land-lords, the schools, everyone has to have a buy-in to whatever that vision is to go forward. If we had a total buy-in [in Mansfield], I would be for [the two-way conversion].”
Scott stated, “I was expecting to get a little more on the two-way streets versus the one-way, but I learned a lot about downtown and maybe what we need to look at. And I think there are possibilities of what we can do in the future to support businesses downtown and make the area more viable, visible, and attractive.”
Harris is on board with the conversion. He stated that the two-way conversion would slow traffic down because the traffic patterns are currently “fast-paced” and the lights are designed for people to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.
Fernyak, who has been spearheading this two-conversion project and is passionate about the subject said that with the two-way streets, the downtown would be much more “user-friendly” and would encourage more foot traffic.
“Main St. is only getting traffic from the north, making anyone that comes in from the south go up Diamond St. and then figure out how to get over to Main St. if they want to do visit the businesses. It’s just a convoluted, difficult program,” said Fernyak.
On Nov. 19, Mansfield City Council will vote on whether or not to go forward with two-way engineering studies, which would be paid for by the Engwiller Investment Group.
“You have to have an identity as a community. Find your community’s purpose. And then gather people around you that have the burn in their belly to make that happen,” said Wooster Mayor Bob Breneman.
