While some worried bump-outs would take away too much parking to be of much benefit, Walsworth said the increased margins they provided restaurants likely minimized damage to Durango\u2019s restaurant scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people worried we were going to lose too much parking, but we traded about 50 spaces for an extra 10,000 square feet for restaurants, and I think that really made a difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kris Oyler, co-founder and CEO of Peak Food & Beverage, credited bump-outs with reviving revenue at Peak\u2019s three restaurants, Steamworks Brewing Co., El Moro and Bird\u2019s, to 95% of 2019 sales.<\/p>\n
July sales at El Moro actually beat July 2019 sales, he said.<\/p>\n
Oyler said he would consider it a win if bump-outs can return to accommodate spring skiers.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, he said it is vital restaurants and all businesses keep current with state restrictions to take advantage of any increased capacity allowed if COVID-19 transmission rates decline.<\/p>\n Long-term, Walsworth said businesses and the city of Durango developed a closer working relationship as they quickly devised the bump-out program, and those ties should pay off in identifying, studying and putting in place other creative ideas to boost commerce in the age of the novel coronavirus.<\/p>\n Virtually overnight, the city of Durango converted Main Avenue from a four-lane road to a two-lane road with a center turn lane to provide the extra space needed for bump-outs. The added retail and dining space took up about 60 parking spaces, but that was a small percentage of the approximately 600 spots in the surrounding downtown area.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were so worried about the businesses we love, but I think we weathered summer OK, but now we\u2019re coming to winter, the slow season, and we need to look at what we can do to help in October, November and how to keep December a strong month,\u201d Walsworth said.<\/p>\n Barger estimates virtually every business in downtown Durango will end winter \u201cupside down\u201d given Snowdown has been canceled and tax payments will be due.<\/p>\n Rod Barker, owner of the Strater Hotel, suggested BID, downtown businesses and the city examine an old idea to create a two-block, one-way loop using Main Avenue and East Second Avenue around the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in an effort to stimulate the area.<\/p>\n Creating the loop, he said, would provide greater visibility to East Second Avenue, provide more space for bump-outs and make snow removal easier.<\/p>\n Walsworth added that it seems a good time to look at many past ideas to reconfigure Main Avenue and downtown Durango in an effort to add to its vibrancy.<\/p>\n \u201cLeft turns complicate things, and if you have one-way traffic, that eliminates that,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s time to take a step back and look at ideas like this to see how we might reconfigure downtown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Another idea Barker brought up was bolstering a program underway at Visit Durango to provide discounts for tourists already in Durango to stay an extra night.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not increasing our risk,\u201d he said. \u201cThese people are already in Durango, and if they stay an extra night or two, they\u2019re going to go out for dinner, they\u2019re going to shop, they\u2019re going to add a raft trip.\u201d<\/p>\n David Moler, owner of Durango Rivertrippers & Adventure Tours, said the demand for outdoor recreation benefited his operation this summer, which was busier than 2019.<\/p>\n Demand for outdoor recreation and rural getaways already has the outdoor recreational industry predicting an even busier season in 2021, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are going to spend the next six months cooped up in Zoom meetings and with remote learning,\u201d he said. \u201cI think they are going to be itching to get out in spring, and it\u2019s going to be important for us as a community to be ready for the onslaught we\u2019re likely to see next year.\u201d<\/p>\n