By Melissa Wagoner
For the past year and a half the Silverton Chamber of Commerce has been working hand in hand with the North Marion Tourism Collaborative (NMTC) – an organization developed to help cities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic – to boost tourism through a regional website (www.exploremc.com), and a mobile kiosk that can be reserved for events.
The chamber has also secured multiple grants, one of which allowed for the implementation of a “Destination Downtown” event on May 24, during which government officials and community members gathered to assess – with the help of NMTC and representatives from Travel Oregon – the current state of Silverton’s downtown and how it might be improved.
Beginning by describing the tenets of a thriving downtown – including walkability, safety, beautification, food, wayfinding, entertainment, diversity of commerce and the ability to leverage nearby attractions – moderators challenged attendees to list improvements that could be made in each of those areas.
“The downtown core has converted to restaurants and real estate offices,” community member Sarah Weitzman said.
“And if there’s an event, like at The Oregon Garden, there’s nothing to get [tourists] into downtown,” Lynn Williams, a representative from the Silverton Tourism Committee, added.
Ideas flowed throughout the day including, among others, a lack of culturally inclusive murals, the need for more cohesive signage and a desire for more farm-to- restaurant product connections.
Then, with a list of possible short-term projects completed, each attendee was given the chance to vote on six they would like to see brought to completion. Those proposals included the addition of trolley services, the need for both sidewalk and crosswalk enhancements, the desire for more First Friday pop-ups, the institution of a permanent First Friday, an overall increase in city-wide pet friendliness and the closure of Main Street for more events.
Considerations finalized, each project was given its own 100-day Challenge Action Planning worksheet on which the venture could be planned out according to concept, location, key considerations, initial actions, possible leadership and proposed milestones.
“The North Marion Tourism Collaborative will be reviewing the resources and notes from the workshop to determine as a collective which projects have the momentum, capacity and leadership to move forward and seek funding,” Travel Oregon representative Alexa Carey said of the next steps. “For capacity, there is currently an AmeriCorps RARE placement… there will likely be grant development in addition to requests for local municipal and county investments toward implementation. At the same time, the NMTC and Destination Ready leads will be reviewing and refining the draft report compiled… which details recommended next steps in project design and implementation. That report will be finalized by July 5.”
But, even with the assistance of these resources and help from the NMTC, final implementation of the six proposed projects is ultimately reliant upon the City of Silverton itself, which is why the involvement of community members is a key component of “Destination Downtown.”
“From the view of the Collaborative, the workshops provided the opportunity for the communities involved to see their downtowns through the eyes of visitors and local residents,” NMTC representative Maricela Guerrero explained. Adding, “I have to say, I found it very interesting, and I will not look at a downtown crosswalk, sidewalks, or signage the same again.”
