Creating a more Visitor-Friendly Detroit

**French777** · January-06-11, 07:15 PM

I am on Christmas break from Wayne State, I was rather bored on my last week on break and I recently have decided to draft a plan to make Detroit a more "Visitor-friendly place".

In my Page draft I have included such elements as...

Parking
- Detroit should model after Birmingham's model of having the first 2 hours of parking free.
- The parking rates at the garages should all be the same per hour.

SkyDeck
- Reopen the "SkyDeck" or attempt to build one in the RenCen.

Banners

- Fill up the streetlight banners in downtown Detroit and surrounding neighborhoods. Banners are a cheap way to advertise cultural events, attractions downtown, etc

CityPass program

- The museums in Detroit should attempt to come together and form what I call "CityPass". A ticket that a visitor that can purchase for lets say $20.00 and that would get them into any museum in Detroit for that day of purchase. I started out with a plan for a pilot program for the CityPass.
- The pilot program would start with the DIA, Detroit Historical Museum and Detroit Science Center and [[if validated) a visitor could receive free parking in the underground parking garage next to the DIA for the day.

-All these points I have are more in depth in my 44 page report.
- Any comments or suggestions? [[ Please leave out comments such as "get rid of prostitutes and panhandlers" etc)

**fryar** · January-06-11, 07:22 PM

Great ideas, all. You've got my vote. And you typed up a 44-page report? Wow.

Say, you're right. Who's the idiot responsible for having different rates at different [[I assume you mean municipal) garages?! That's so totally stupid.

Remind me to send you my somebody-should-do-something file. ;-)

**French777** · January-06-11, 07:26 PM

Its on PowerPoint, so not exactly a formal 44 page report.

Yes, I did mean city owned garages in downtown and midtown.

I think out of all of those the "CityPass" program is the most important, or second, possible after reworking the parking garage pricing.

Toolbox · January-06-11, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by French777

I am on Christmas break from Wayne State, I was rather bored on my last week on break and I recently have decided to draft a plan to make Detroit a more "Visitor-friendly place".

CityPass program

- The museums in Detroit should attempt to come together and form what I call "CityPass". A ticket that a visitor that can purchase for lets say $20.00 and that would get them into any museum in Detroit for that day of purchase. I started out with a plan for a pilot program for the CityPass.
- The pilot program would start with the DIA, Detroit Historical Museum and Detroit Science Center and [[if validated) a visitor could receive free parking in the underground parking garage next to the DIA for the day.

Do they teach research skills anymore?

Just Googling"detroit museum pass" and the FIRST hit is The Museum Adventure Pass program. Guess what, it's free.

**davewindsor** · January-06-11, 09:33 PM

Well, if they want to make it more visitor friendly, how about...

1) getting one of those red double decker buses that gives a couple hour tour of city like they have in London and New York and subsidize it like the People Mover. $10 sounds very reasonable.

2) setting up a Murmur program like in Toronto. You have these street signs in front of historical buildings or a payphone with a number to call and it tells you stories about the building, street or neighbourhood. http://toronto.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi...murtoronto.ca/

They can also have a list of phone numbers to call on the people mover if people want to hear a recorded message on stories of a certain area, etc.

3) Have someone update the visitor website information regularly. I googled the Lawrence Fisher Mansion after watching it on youtube.. It looked like this great place to visit with a gift shop and all. It said it was opened "By appt and F,Sa,Su." I went there on a Friday afternoon a month ago. The gates were open. Not a car in sight. The lights were off. I knocked. No answer. I heard someone inside doing dishes and knocked on the nearby door, but no one came out. It didn't feel very welcoming. It was upsetting having to leave after driving all the way out there. wth?

Chuck La Chez · January-07-11, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

Well, if they want to make it more visitor friendly, how about...

1) getting one of those red double decker buses that gives a couple hour tour of city like they have in London and New York and subsidize it like the People Mover. $10 sounds very reasonable.

2) setting up a Murmur program like in Toronto. You have these street signs in front of historical buildings or a payphone with a number to call and it tells you stories about the building, street or neighbourhood. http://toronto.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi...murtoronto.ca/

They can also have a list of phone numbers to call on the people mover if people want to hear a recorded message on stories of a certain area, etc.

3) Have someone update the visitor website information regularly.

I love those ideas!

**MikeM** · January-07-11, 12:11 PM

Infrastructure improvements - better signage, pavement markings, and directions. The city has a confusing street pattern; I feel sorry for visitors trying to find their way around. Signs on surface streets directing you to the freeway suddenly disappear or give no indication whether you need to turn left or right at an upcoming intersection. How about adding "To Airport" to the I-94 West signs, etc., and place them overhead not on the shoulder, and while were at it, illuminate them.

**Blue** · January-07-11, 01:57 PM

www.detroiturbanadventures.com

that is a flyer i found in the Detroit Beer Company.
They have two different tours.
One is "The D you must see" for 25 Dollars, 2 hours, departs 1 pm tues-sat at 1515 Broadway.
and "Detroit's Rise, Fall and Renewal" 20Dollars, 2 hours, tues-sat, 3.30 pm

the first ends with free food and the second with free beer.

**canuck** · January-07-11, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by Blue

www.detroiturbanadventures.com

that is a flyer i found in the Detroit Beer Company.
They have two different tours.
One is "The D you must see" for 25 Dollars, 2 hours, departs 1 pm tues-sat at 1515 Broadway.
and "Detroit's Rise, Fall and Renewal" 20Dollars, 2 hours, tues-sat, 3.30 pm

the first ends with free food and the second with free beer.

That is pretty clever, no need to wrestle with me to get me onto the second one...

**Guideboat** · January-06-11, 09:46 PM

The Museum Adventure Pass is similar, but I think French is suggesting kind of a split day ticket where you could spend a few hours in several museums/attractions on the same day. A tasting spoon of cultural attractions.

**401don** · January-06-11, 10:06 PM

For now the city is what it is so it's smart they finally stopped marketing to traditional families and started promoting the cars, gaming, sports and entertainment to singles.
To me the biggest problem downtown is that you have these islands -Foxtown, Greektown, Ren Cen and CMart - but no reason to walk down the ghost town that is Woodward Avenue. Nothing sends a worse message to visitors than a main drag that is void of life.

**Neilr** · January-06-11, 10:00 PM

Perhaps you could include the Charles H. Wright Museum in your City Pass concept. Also the Motown Museum seems to be an attraction for out of towners.

**French777** · January-06-11, 10:18 PM

The "Museum Adventure Pass" is only to library card holder members I believe. I doubt someone from Ohio would have a library card to DPL, RHPL etc. Furthermore, I thought I read that the "M.A.P" program is going to be terminated later. Locally, [[DIA already pulled out of it) and the Detroit Science Center is not one of the museums on the M.A.P list.

- In my plan I do have the Motown Museum and C.H.W.M.A.A.H on my list. Just not the "Pilot" program, to you know "test out" the program to see if it is worthwhile.

**iheartthed** · January-06-11, 10:36 PM

When the travelers were stranded at the airport because of the East Coast blizzard I thought it would have been a good idea if the city [[or DEGC?) could have bussed travelers in from the airport hotels to the bars and restaurants downtown.

**Mikeg** · January-07-11, 12:06 AM

Originally Posted by French777

The "Museum Adventure Pass" is only to library card holder members I believe. I doubt someone from Ohio would have a library card to DPL, RHPL etc......

Since it costs $100/ yr. for a non-resident DPL library card, you would be safe in doubting that anyone from outside Detroit would have a DPL library card.

Does your 44 page plan identify any funding sources and include annual financial projections?

BTW, streetlight banners aren't very effective with evening visitors when they can't be seen because of persistent outages.

**ghettopalmetto** · January-06-11, 11:09 PM

IMHO, 401don nails it. Detroit has very poor connectivity between its nodes of activity. Make it possible [[and safe!) to walk from place-to-place, and you're on the right track.

Hell, you can cover half of Boston on foot and not even realize it. In Detroit, it's a struggle to cross the damned street.

**Hamtragedy** · January-06-11, 11:42 PM

For starters, how about asking all employees at Cobo Hall to smile during the auto show?

**begingri** · January-07-11, 01:17 AM

I've always thought the CityPass for Detroit would be a GREAT idea. We have so many great institutions we have around here. You can consolidate them all on to one ticket. If someone wants to come to Detroit and don't know what to do here, all they have to do is buy the CityPass and experience a whole host of great places.

You should add the Detroit Zoo and The Henry Ford to the CityPass. Yes, technically both aren't in Detroit. But the Toronto CityPass includes the Toronto Zoo, which is way outside of downtown Toronto [[I'm not sure if it's in the city itself or not). Also make sure to emphasize the Sky Deck. Every CityPass I've used has had some sort of view of the city itself included [[I've only used Chicago's and Toronto's CityPasses). These places, in addition to the ones you already mentioned, would definitely make Detroit a more attractive tourist destination.

**professorscott** · January-07-11, 01:45 AM

This CityPass thing is a great idea. Question: in some of the cities which have such a thing, who issues it? I mean, does the City itself run the program, or some kind of business improvement association like a chamber of commerce, or a visitors' bureau, or who?

I'd just like to know who to try to sell this to

**fryar** · January-07-11, 02:00 AM

Originally Posted by professorscott

I'd just like to know who to try to sell this to

Not that I don't see the smiley, but I think there's actually legitimacy to selling it to locals until you can generate additional tourism.

**professorscott** · January-07-11, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by fryar

Not that I don't see the smiley, but I think there's actually legitimacy to selling it to locals until you can generate additional tourism.

Fryar, I didn't mean "who do we sell the pass to", I meant "who do we sell the IDEA of the pass to". Somebody has to produce and distribute such a pass, which entails a certain amount of work and a little bit of money, that's all.

**canuck** · January-07-11, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by professorscott

This CityPass thing is a great idea. Question: in some of the cities which have such a thing, who issues it? I mean, does the City itself run the program, or some kind of business improvement association like a chamber of commerce, or a visitors' bureau, or who?

I'd just like to know who to try to sell this to

Check out the promotional video on the Tourism Montreal site;

http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/MontrealTV

There are a couple of events featuring free bus and museum and gallery shows on two chosen itineraries during culture days in Montreal:

http://www.journeesdelaculture.qc.ca/?lang=en

**begingri** · January-07-11, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by professorscott

This CityPass thing is a great idea. Question: in some of the cities which have such a thing, who issues it? I mean, does the City itself run the program, or some kind of business improvement association like a chamber of commerce, or a visitors' bureau, or who?

I'd just like to know who to try to sell this to

http://www.citypass.com/contact
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityPASS

I tried to do a little research, but I still have no idea who you'd contact. I'd say the best option would be CityPass themself so they could contact the institutions to include. That or the Detroit City Council to get them to call CityPass and get it arranged.

DetroitDad · January-07-11, 03:04 AM

I like how you're thinking!

Can I add that the entrance ramps, roads, and major transit routes that lead into the CBD are pretty messy and unkept, though better than they were a decade ago. These are all things that we could either fix, research further, or help realign existing programs to take care of. You don't even have to live in the city for the research part. You know... it's putting that one extra degree forward that turns the water from hot, to boiling, if you will. It's pushing that old train over the top of the hill... no?