A Simple Stimulus Plan



A Simple SUMMER Stimulus Plan

(Proposal for a Healthy Summer Tourist Season)

Presented to The Mayor and Coronado City Council

By Susan Heavilin

susanheavilin@

In these times of economic downturn, MainStreets across the nation are looking for new ways to bring more tourism to their cities. This proposal attempts to do just that and more. The innovativeness of this idea is that it invites tourists to come and enjoy our town, without the burden of parking or traffic congestion.

The residents aren’t crazy about the prospect of more traffic. Traffic has been one of our biggest issues. And besides, where are our visitors to park? The streets are already overburdened with parked cars from visitors using Coronado Beach (this year declared #4 in the nation) and Spreckels Park for the concerts.

The necessary components are already present or easily attained. The solution is immediate, in place for summer and ready to stimulate the sliding economy. It encourages “smart” tourism in Coronado and synergy between all the local businesses, without the congestion of added traffic. It might even encourage visitors to park elsewhere and ride the Trolley into Coronado, enjoying the incredible view at the crest of the bridge.

There are five components:

• Trolley / Ferry traffic;

• An option for all local businesses to participate;

• An Information Map /Booklet and Signage;

• The Coronado Cart;

• And a “Green” takeaway bag

Cooperation of Components

Trolley:

An Old Town Trolley crosses the Coronado Bridge approximately every fifteen minutes. This is a given. In the summer, each one is filled to capacity. So as often as not, another trolley immediately follows it. I have seen as many as four trolleys bumper-to-bumper pass in front of my home.

The Trolley makes two stops in Coronado. One at the Ferry Landing:

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and the second in front of McP’s Irish Pub and Grill. The Old Town Trolley Tours website still shows the old location at the Hotel del Coronado. After the meeting today Mary Clifford stopped to talk. She thought the trolley “capture” idea was a great one and told me that she had done the trolley recently. When she got off the trolley at McP’s, there was some information about McP’s so that is where they decided to eat.

That’s why a booklet would be a good idea. They could see what is available in town, not just right in front of them, and make their decisions of where to go given this knowledge. Each business could submit a sentence or two to entice the customer to try them. For example: “McP’s is the home of the world-famous Navy SEALs and their mugs hang above the bar.”

The Old Town Trolley Tours website can be found at

The Trolley runs from 8:50am – 6pm through June 18th. Then it begins a summer schedule of 8:50am – 7pm until the end of August, running 8:50am – 8pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

So . . . how to we get them OFF the Trolley and ON to walking and shopping the streets of Coronado?

San Diego – Coronado Ferry:

The San Diego – Coronado Ferry ride is 15 minute sail from either the Broadway Pier or the Convention Center to the Coronado Ferry Landing. The cost is a mere $3.25 one-way or $6.50 for a round trip. Children under four are free.

The schedule for traveling between the Broadway Pier and Coronado is easy. The ferry leaves San Diego on the hour and Coronado on the half hour. The schedule for the Convention Center and Coronado is a little more convoluted:

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The City of Coronado provides a fare free service called the Commuter Ferry Service. It uses the same ferry, it just does not charge. Here is that schedule:

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All ferry services to Coronado disembark at the Coronado Ferry Landing. This website ( ) reports that there are twenty-five Ferry Landing shops. An informational sign when departing the Ferry would be inexpensive and direct visitors to all types of Coronado business venues.

Participation of Business Owners:

Local business owners could decide whether or not they wish to participate in this community venture. If they initially are not interested, they could join in at any time. Likewise, it would be just as easy to drop out.

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It’s as easy as obtaining a “Trolley Special” badge to post in the window or better yet, on the door. We could use something that resembles their logo (shown) and change the word “tours” to “special.” This would alert all trolley travelers that this particular business is offering them a “special” and they just need to walk in the door. (Businesses do need to be trained to welcome warmly any person displaying a trolley sticker on their clothing.) The business owner gets to decide what the “special” is. They decide if it remains the same or changes monthly, weekly, daily or even hourly. It could be used to move an item that is not moving as quickly as they would like. It could be a free gizmo with a purchase of XX dollars. The decision is totally theirs.

A participating restaurant could offer a meal special (buy two, get one free) or a free drink with a meal or a free refill or whatever they decide they want to offer.

The beauty of this is that if the special isn’t going the way they want it to, it can be changed immediately. No one knows what the “special” of the moment is except the shop owner.

And as I mentioned before, businesses can join up or drop out at will. The only indication that they are participating is the “Trolley Special” badge in the window.

Information Booklet / Map

At the bottom of the Trolley website page is a link called “Guide to San Diego” which leads to:

Complimentary San Diego Map Brochure with Day Planner Section

Included with your Old Town Trolley ticket purchase, you will receive a complimentary map brochure which includes a day planner section to enhance your visit to San Diego. It’s important to remember that there are many things to do and see at each stop on the tour, but it is impossible to do everything in one day. In order to plan your visit and avoid missing any must-sees, look through the points of interest and choose what you would like to do before you board the trolley. We encourage you to tour at your own pace, however, the number of stops you can get on and off at depends on the time of year and the amount of time you have. Our CAST members will be pleased to give you walking directions from our trolley stops to any of the attractions.

We could probably contact the production company and get one created for Coronado.

Or we could create a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2” booklet, stapled down the middle. The middle section could have a map of Coronado proper with numbers in circles and a list of businesses with corresponding numbers (and a one sentence description). Business listings would include addresses, phone numbers and web addresses. This booklet could also show locations of historical homes and a paragraph about why it is noteworthy, year it was built, architectural style, famous persons who had lived there and nickname. Maybe something like the Old Town Trolley Tours uses for Old Town:

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This booklet could also contain Trolley and Ferry Schedules, Coronado Cab Operators and Water Taxi (in case you miss the last trip), history and interesting tidbits about Coronado.

And Signage:

Once you find your way to Coronado, there is no clear instruction or direction as to where to go and how to get there!

I think that this could be solved very easy with the use of “You are Here” signs much like you see at the local shopping malls. Here are some ideas:

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The first image illustrates the “You Are Here” idea. All signage could use the same map with just the location indicator showing. The location indicator could be as simple as a brightly colored dot.

I like the layout of the second image (though Coronado is not near so complex as this) in that it shows the streets as white with the street name running through the middle of it. Permanent markers would show such consistent locations such as the fire station, police station, hospital, bus stops, trolley and ferry. Since business do come and go, these would be indicated with a location number. And much like the “You Are Here” signage at the shopping mall, these could be listed at the bottom of the sign. They might even be categorized.

The businesses would be listed next to their location number and would possibly include:

• address

• phone number

• website address (many people have internet access on their phones these days)

Off the top of my head, these are the signage locations I would recommend:

• Ferry Landing

• Trolley Stops

• Lifeguard Service Building on Beach (on the side, viewable from the sidewalk)

Other locations to consider:

• Chamber of Commerce Building

• Visitor Center

• 100 Block of Orange Avenue

• Rotary Park

• 1100 Block of Orange Avenue

I would suggest the ad hoc committee research the best locations without overdoing signage.

The Coronado Cart:

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Ms. Anderson, who owns and operates the local “Waxpot” business, invented her cart originally to be used at shopping malls and Farmers’ Markets. Once I saw it, I knew that it would be perfect for curbing traffic congestion in Coronado and encouraging environmentally-friendly pedestrian traffic coming off the Trolley and Ferry. And when the Park-and-Ride program arrives, we will already have our pedestrian program established.

The Coronado Cart is both healthy and green. It allows visitors to walk and shop Coronado avenues burden free and encourages them to utilize their daytrip to the fullest. The cart is lightweight—yet sturdy—and features a purse hanger: a convenient pouch for wallet, keys, and cell phone; a variety of hooks to hang your shopping bags on; a large mesh pouch; and a sturdy cup holder. The custom designed ball-bearing front wheel allows you to maneuver into tight spots easily and turn on a dime.

The Coronado Cart may be purchased individually for $99. Visitors may decide to take them home and they will be added to their credit card if not returned at the end of the day. The rental agreement informs them of this option and requires a signature.

Discounts for quantity purchases as rentals:

Cart Without Label:

25..............................................$90.00

50................................................85.00

100...............................................80.00

1000.............................................70.00

Private Labeled Cart:

25.............................................$106.00

50................................................93.00

100...............................................84.00

1000.............................................72.00

The suggested rental fee for the Coronado Cart is $10.00 a day. The purchase price of each cart w/o label is fully recovered after the:

Tenth rental at the quantity discount level of 25

Eighth rental at quantity discount level of 100

Seventh rental at quantity discount level of 1000.

Privately labeled carts would require one additional rental for full recovery of initial cost.

After that rental, the rest is PURE PROFIT. The cost of the cart should be fully recovered within approximately two weeks. The recovery rate may be more rapid if the cart is rented more than once a day. Rental terms and amounts will be established by the City of Coronado.

People love to shop but they don’t love to carry heavy bags. Utilizing the Coronado Cart would make visiting and shopping in Coronado a pleasurable adventure worth repeating.

How would a tourist find a Coronado Cart? Carts would be distributed up and down Orange Avenue. If the City started with 100 carts, they could be distributed ten to ten businesses or five to twenty businesses. A brightly-colored sign advertising “Coronado Carts for Rent Here” would be displayed in the window or door of the participating business.

The advantage to the business is that the visitor, once in your establishment, would most likely purchase items in your store, inquire about property or rentals in your real estate business, decide to have lunch in your restaurant… you get the idea. Carts take up little space as they can be stacked when standing or hung from a ceiling rod when collapsed.

Once the two-week period has passed and the City of Coronado starts reaping the rewards, this is what can be expected. Fifty cart rentals (1/2 the fleet) would earn $500 per day or $3,500 per week; one hundred rentals (one rental per day) would earn $1,000 per day or $7,000 per week; and two hundred rentals (averaged from more than one rental per day) would earn $2,000 a day or $14,000 per week.

“Green” Takeaway Bag:

This is the piece that did not get mentioned before I ran out of speaking time. The final component is a takeaway bag.

When the trolley traveler decides to leave Coronado, they may return their Coronado Cart to the location where they rented it OR it would be very desirable if they could return it right next to the trolley stop. If this option is utilized, Coronado students could be hired at a minimum fee to walk the carts back to their original location.

If the visitor decides to keep the cart, they just fold it up and take it away on the trolley. They have already signed a rental agreement stating that if the cart is not returned by closing time, it is assumed that the visitor decided to keep the cart and their credit card will be charged $99. The city will make a slight profit here because they did not pay full amount for the cart.

If the visitor decides to return the cart, they would have the option of purchasing a “green” takeaway bag. All their purchase bags are removed from the cart and placed within the green bag. The visitor slips the bag over their shoulder and hops on the trolley.

The City may opt to design a bag to coincide with the “branding” idea presented by Eddie Warner at the June 2nd City Council meeting. Or the City may decide to use the new bag that the Coronado Chamber of Commerce designed and produced. Karen Finch, CEO of the Chamber showed it to me the day I met with her and told me that it would hold up to 44 pounds of weight. Either bag would work nicely. The City could decide if they wanted to place brochures or information inside the bag for the visitor to read later.

Additional Ideas

Therein lies my entire proposal for a healthy summer tourist season for Coronado without bringing additional traffic. I came up with these ideas after being told that summer would be hard and some of the businesses would not survive. This plan was devised as a quick remedy to get us through this summer but this wise investment could serve us well throughout the year. We do not need more Cora Marts or Village Theaters haunting our MainStreet.

I spoke with the inventor of the cart, Janice Anderson, after the Council meeting. She could have one hundred (100) carts (without labels) ready within a week. Labels could be here within two weeks. The Chamber has the takeaway bags in hand. A meeting could be scheduled immediately with the Old Town Trolley Tours to discuss a short infomercial from their “cast” and details about creating a map/brochure. If a booklet were to be used, I would be willing to donate my time and expertise (as far as that goes) to help out with its creation.

If the Mayor and Council like this idea, the monies could be approved at the June 16th Council meeting and the plan could be in place by the first of July.

This gets the summer business jumpstarted and sets the mode for an abundance of opportunities that could follow. This “Simple Summer Stimulus Plan” could be easily put in place and would not adversely affect future plans for Coronado.

The ad hoc committee could come up with a solid “core” plan that would get this going now but yet could be built upon in the future. These future plans might address the image of Coronado as a “getaway” or mini-vacation (daytrips, weekends, week-long or month-long). I would also like to see Coronado evolve back into its original “village atmosphere” with a dash of “green” thrown in, allowing for a reduction of traffic and an increase in walking and bicycling. Other ideas might include electric golf carts or pedicabs to move less ambulatory visitors or a new focus on the advantages of the 904 Shuttle.

I have attached an article “No Parking: Car-Free—and cool—in Santa Barbara” by Starshine Roshell that appeared in the June 2009 edition of “Westways”, the AAA publication. It details how the city of Santa Barbara is attempting to be a car-free destination.

Its all here in Coronado and readily available for usage. We just need some new thoughts and ideas. I have always said that I think this town is full of vast resources (her residents). I believe that getting residents involved and contributing ideas will not only make this town a even better place in which to live, it will really bring the community together.

Thank you for your time and consideration of these ideas.

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