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One of the major issues that came up with that new building at the VFW site involved students' willingness to live downtown without a car. Developers, commissioners, and the city are all speculating about this issue. I believe the current approach is to have 1 parking slot for every 2 beds in these big projects, with less if they are close to public transportation, etc. So if the student population is accepting of this approach, perhaps someone can conduct a survey/poll then present it to the planning commission or city council to demonstrate that fact? If 1000 students say they would be willing to spend $600-700/month on an apartment downtown without a car, seems such could be very convincing.
That might be a good idea, but I believe the more likely issue is politically powerful and monied individuals are concerned about competition, and are moving to prevent as much of it as they possibly can. The main way to bring about positive change downtown is to change the composition of the governing body to one that favors development rather than one that protects the vested interests of the current, firmly entrenched stake holders who feel threatened by these positive developments. This latter, good old boy network wants to keep getting the benefits of the area's prosperity without making the necessary investments to do their part in insuring that the services they provide are top flight.
It wouldn't be easy to upset that establishment. They will fight tooth and nail to maintain their hegemony, but it could be done if enough folks became involved with the process. Voting in entirely new leadership and bringing about changes in the city's administration and membership on boards would be crucial to the process. The current group is more interested in protecting their own interests than they are in the city's prosperity or growth. If the students took a more active part in the process, it would be helpful.
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