William G. Faust Jr. is a resident of Dover.
As I sit back and reflect on the past, the plan to revitalize downtown Dover may not be a sound investment. Today, our youth and older generations are plugged into convenience and doing things to reduce their participation in the daily rat race.
Examples of dying fads:
As I see it, the only individuals guaranteed to make money on the downtown development will be the developers who were awarded the bids and the realty agents.
A big example of an investment that failed to produce the desired result would be the New Jersey casinos. When they were first pushed onto the citizens of New Jersey, they were supposed to help with school funding and assist older adults. To date, they have failed to aid the residents of New Jersey, as the plan promised.
I see no big draw for shopping in downtown Dover. With costs going up all around us, who would want to pay for parking in a lot, when they can shop from the comfort of their homes? Plus, there are outlets and other stores in the surrounding area that offer free parking. Lastly, with all the issues affecting downtown, how are a few rental cops going to be able to stem all the issues, when our well-trained police department is struggling to handle all the criminal elements in the city?
I feel the downtown project will die off like the dinosaurs. The mayor and City Council better have a backup plan, for when and if this project fails to bring in the revenue that they predict.
The mayor and council better think long and hard about this major investment they are leading the citizens into because you cannot easily put the evil genie back into the bottle once it is let out. Remember, the Titanic was once thought to be unsinkable, but it still sank when it hit the iceberg.
I am not against improvements to the city, but I have not seen or heard any concern about what will happen if this major endeavor fails.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
