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View Poll Results: 2nd Best Downtown?
Worcester 8 14.81%
Springfield 4 7.41%
Lowell 12 22.22%
Brockton 0 0%
Salem 24 44.44%
Fall River 0 0%
Lynn 1 1.85%
New Bedford 5 9.26%
Voters: 54. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 01-18-2015, 11:53 AM
 
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Originally Posted by btownboss4 View Post
Downtown Lowell, Salem, Worcester has a lot of Offices and workers, even some small manufacturers, ever try to get through Downtown Lowell at 5? its horrible.
Newburyport and Northampton don't have as many 9-5 workers, its more of an outdoor mall.
Yes, I lived less than one mile from the infamous Lord Overpass, I am well aware of downtown Lowell's traffic and pedestrian patterns. Downtown Lowell has a fraction of the office workers that downtown Boston sees on a daily basis. If downtown Lowell could survive on functionality alone they would have no need for things like the Folk Festival or the national park. Same thing with Salem, if it is was predominantly functional it would not need all of the touristy elements. These places need tourists and visitors to economically survive. Boston's downtown still monopolizes the functional elements to this day, that is why Lowell, Salem and other downtowns need to find niche events to attract visitors and their spending.
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Old 01-19-2015, 09:49 AM
 
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Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan View Post
Yes, I lived less than one mile from the infamous Lord Overpass, I am well aware of downtown Lowell's traffic and pedestrian patterns. Downtown Lowell has a fraction of the office workers that downtown Boston sees on a daily basis. If downtown Lowell could survive on functionality alone they would have no need for things like the Folk Festival or the national park. Same thing with Salem, if it is was predominantly functional it would not need all of the touristy elements. These places need tourists and visitors to economically survive. Boston's downtown still monopolizes the functional elements to this day, that is why Lowell, Salem and other downtowns need to find niche events to attract visitors and their spending.
Lowell has a commuter Downtown as in Daytime population is a net gain, many cities don't have that. Lowell, Worcester, New Bedford, Springfield, all grow when the work day starts, Northampton, Newburyport is not a jobs center.
There is a greater Lowell, Metro-Springfield, Greater New Bedford etc where in Surrounding towns are tied to the City, Northampton, Newburyport, Hyannis etc. don't have this. they are on a different tier.
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Old 01-19-2015, 10:02 AM
 
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Originally Posted by btownboss4 View Post
Lowell has a commuter Downtown as in Daytime population is a net gain, many cities don't have that. Lowell, Worcester, New Bedford, Springfield, all grow when the work day starts, Northampton, Newburyport is not a jobs center.
Having lived in Lowell, I would say the cities biggest advantage is the population of educated young professionals living in the downtown area. There are a TON of rental or condo loft units scattered throughout the mill buildings downtown, most are well occupied. The local population (either residents or daytime employees) is what supports downtown businesses such as Brew'd Awakening or Life Alive ... it's not the occasional tourist.
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Old 01-22-2015, 06:20 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Shrewsburried View Post
Having lived in Lowell, I would say the cities biggest advantage is the population of educated young professionals living in the downtown area. There are a TON of rental or condo loft units scattered throughout the mill buildings downtown, most are well occupied. The local population (either residents or daytime employees) is what supports downtown businesses such as Brew'd Awakening or Life Alive ... it's not the occasional tourist.
What also helps Lowell and Salem is (partially) residential Colleges in/around Downtown, as opposed to Worcester which Clark, Assumption, WPI, Holy Cross, Worcester State ring Downtown without getting near it.
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Old 01-22-2015, 06:58 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan View Post
Yes, I lived less than one mile from the infamous Lord Overpass, I am well aware of downtown Lowell's traffic and pedestrian patterns. Downtown Lowell has a fraction of the office workers that downtown Boston sees on a daily basis. If downtown Lowell could survive on functionality alone they would have no need for things like the Folk Festival or the national park. Same thing with Salem, if it is was predominantly functional it would not need all of the touristy elements. These places need tourists and visitors to economically survive. Boston's downtown still monopolizes the functional elements to this day, that is why Lowell, Salem and other downtowns need to find niche events to attract visitors and their spending.
That and the UMass system in both Salem and Lowell.

Agree with Atkinson on this one, the number of businesses providing significant white collar employment has significantly declined in the last 15-20 years in both Salem and Lowell. There are a number of major employers between Littleton and Chelmsford, but not major employers outside of hospitality, arts and entertainment and UMass within Lowell. During the dotcom era Salem, Peabody, Danvers and surrounds had a significant number of startups, long gone and unlikely to return.
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Old 01-22-2015, 07:07 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4 View Post
What also helps Lowell and Salem is (partially) residential Colleges in/around Downtown, as opposed to Worcester which Clark, Assumption, WPI, Holy Cross, Worcester State ring Downtown without getting near it.
A lot of UMass Lowell campus is in the Highlands rather than directly in the downtown.

Salem State is close but not directly in the downtown.

Clark and WPI are really pretty close to the center of Worcester as is UMass Medical school.
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Old 01-22-2015, 09:54 PM
 
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Originally Posted by 495neighbor View Post
That and the UMass system in both Salem and Lowell.

Agree with Atkinson on this one, the number of businesses providing significant white collar employment has significantly declined in the last 15-20 years in both Salem and Lowell. There are a number of major employers between Littleton and Chelmsford, but not major employers outside of hospitality, arts and entertainment and UMass within Lowell. During the dotcom era Salem, Peabody, Danvers and surrounds had a significant number of startups, long gone and unlikely to return.
It's doesn't matter for Lowell in the short term.

Burlington/Bedford's tech sector continues to expand and southern NH still has a number of large employers as well (e.g., BAE, Fidelity). Lowell is well positioned to be an urban commuter town for young professionals working north west of Boston.
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Old 01-22-2015, 10:02 PM
 
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Originally Posted by 495neighbor View Post
A lot of UMass Lowell campus is in the Highlands rather than directly in the downtown.

Salem State is close but not directly in the downtown.

Clark and WPI are really pretty close to the center of Worcester as is UMass Medical school.
Yes, but Clark students have to walk through main south (hell) to reach any worthwhile destinations.

WPIs location is certainly more prime. Meanwhile, Holy Cross students are to Worcester what BC students are to Boston ... stuck on an island. Assumption students are irrelevant given the percentage which commute.
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Old 01-25-2015, 10:15 AM
 
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I vote Haverhill
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Old 01-25-2015, 07:30 PM
 
Location: Boston, MA
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Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan View Post
No Newburyport option? I voted for Lowell out of the options given.
I voted Lowell too, but NBPT is really cool. And it's a city that's smaller in population than most towns.
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