Bismarck, North Dakota News

" The 'Quiet Zone' - here we go again. Give it up. The people have spoken.

If you 'One Step Forward - Two Steps Back' want it so bad why don't you start a fund raiser to get what you and the very few want and leave the rest of us alone. "

" You also forgot all of the offices, banks and law firms that are downtown. Our clients need parking, too. "

" Patissere has terrible service. Terrible. Just because you know how to make great food doesn't mean you know how to run a business. They need to revamp their business model or risk going out of business, especially when they cater to a lunch crowd. a forty-five minute wait for a bagel sandwhich, which they forgot to ask whether it belonged to anyone and simply threw it away (I was one of 10 people seated), and then not apologizing after I inquired about it, is completely inappropriate. A simple "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way. I am done patronizing them, however. Good riddance. "

" Peacock Alley, Fiesta Villa, Pirogue Grill, The White House, Mr. Delicious, Smoothie Operator, Patisserie on 4th, Elbow Room, The Terrace, Bread Poets, Coffee Break, Cafe Aroma, Simply Salads, BAGA, Dakota Stage, Gary's Gallery, Magic Photo, Shooters Billiards, Gracie's Place, Tricia's Bakery, Impact, Urban Girl, Junkyard Chic, One World Imports, Magnolias, Latitudes, Baskets by Design & Roses Forever, White Drug, Red Wing Shoes, Zimmerman's Furniture, CE Designs, Country Barn, Lillian's, Hellman's & H2O, Westly's, Kokklers, Knowles, Walker & Daughters, tons of bridal stores, Seeds of Hope, the Library, Urban Harvest in the summer time....

So yeah... there's really nothing to see or do in downtown... "

" I dont even know of anything downtown. I know there is the Elbow Room, Peacock Alley, and nothing else. Someone please name something that would even be worth going to. Dont say the Hospital, because yes, everyone needs a hospital. Is there any stores that are there? Is there any type of entertainment? There is nothing there. "

" I have worked downtown and now I live downtown and I agree the parking is an issue. I won't go into the amount of money I've spent on parking tickets because of not moving my car on time due to illness or simply trying to enjoy a day off in my home without having to do the 90 minute shuffle 5 times a day. I don't have any solutions, just needed to vent. "

" Bismarck downtown could be cool but right now it's dark, crowded, and full of non interesting stores. I shop Wal Mart, KMart, and Target cause even though they are crowded, they sell the same thing as the stores downtown but at a cheaper rate. PLUS the lights are a deal breaker for me. I can't stand the way street lights are synchronized and managed here. I've never seen so many lights!?! Almost as if a kickback is evident. Hhmmm. "

" Implementing the "Quiet Zone" for the loud, obnoxious, train whistles would be the first matter of business to revitalize the downtown area. Without a "Quiet Zone," everything else is irrelevant "

" Downtown businesses are clueless. I work downtown and cannot even shop during my lunch hour because downtown businesses refuse to shovel their sidewalks except a track in front of their door. I have to park 4 blocks from where I work because the fees for the parking garage are outrageous. The only downtown business that shovels their sidewalk is the Presbyterian Church. I work in an office with 60 some employees and there is someone who has fallen every day for the past few weeks because of mindless downtown business owners and a city who loves to ticket your car but does not ticket local businesses who refuse to clear their sidewalk. Then there is that pesky alley between businesses that no one shovels because apparently its no one's responsibility. So please don't bother establishing more parking because in the winter you will only put yourself in danger trying to keep upright when walking downtown sidewalks! "

" If downtown is so dismal and boring, and dead...then why is there a lack of parking??? I would think with a dead downtown as some have suggested, then there should be open parking spots everywhere. It is not the hospitals taking up all the spots...they have acres and acres of private lots for their employees and visitors. "

" The downtowners are deathly afraid that a greenspace would attract loiterers. They would rather downtown Bismarck resemble a communist outpost, than have a few homeless people and teenagers creating a scene. Ever notice all the "No Trespassing" signs after hours?

Isolated little cities like Bismarck, often suffer from feelings of inadequacy. They are left wanting, for whatever reason, and always try to emulate something they are not. "

" It's time to have a funeral for downtown and move on. "

" Bismarck's downtown is a sterile shell of mostly uninteresting buildings and parking lots, devoid of the greenspace and gathering spaces that make many downtowns attractive. One needs only to look across the river to Mandan to see a downtown that is being nicely revitalized. Fargo's downtown Broadway project is another great revitaliztion.

Bismarck's downtown is a stop and go destination. People go there to do their business, then leave. There are no real attractions to draw people to Bismarck's downtown as the place to do some leisurely shopping and enjoy an afternoon. Much less as a desireable place to live as some have tried to promote.

More parking is a good idea but that parking will be additional spaces for the hospitals, the city and county, and other employees. I'd like to hope that additional parking would encourage downtown employees to park elsewhere than the streets and stop the perpetual 90 minute gottamovethecar hustle but I doubt that will be the case.

What Bismarck's downtown really needs is an injection of soul. A revitalization that makes it an interesting destination, not a stop and go office district. That would be good for the community and good for downtown. "