What does DTK need?

[the_conestoga_guy]

And no, investing in transit hubs, bike lanes and other frivolous nonsense like that isn't going to bring many people downtown. Things people need will.

Transportation infrastructure is “frivolous nonsense”? Now I’ve heard it all.

When I originally mentioned the transit hub, I was thinking of my lived experiences as a student. Once a month or so, I would take the bus to the Charles St Terminal and have a half-hour layover until my Greyhound bus showed up. So I'd spend the time visiting the nearby book store and grabbing a coffee from Coffee Culture. This was so basic that I didn't think much of it, but in retrospect it was the only time that I ever visited downtown back then.

I don't expect that the volume of travelers would make a massive difference for the local shops. But I do think that it would increase the perceived amount of pedestrian activity, which could contribute towards rectifying the notion that downtown "looks dead."

Again, not a magic bullet solution, but an important first step with its own distinct benefits.