Auburn needs billboards, parking and visitor's guide
More advertising, a better tourist guide, arts promoting and enabling business loans up to $100,000 were just four of many ideas submitted at Tuesday’s “Economic Summit” at Auburn’s City Hall. Jan Decker, executive director of the Placer County Visitor’s Council on Lincoln Way, was one of the later speakers at the conference, but made a poignant statement when he said that he did not have enough business guides to pass out at a recent trade show. Potential Auburn visitors clip out coupons from magazines to receive tourist information about the area, yet Decker had no guides to send, he said. “We need to get the information out,” Decker said. Councilman Dr. Bill Kirby told the group about something that could have been done years ago. “We could buy billboards for I-80 to promote our town,” Kirby said. Kirby threw out another idea that he hopes will bring more people to Downtown Auburn. “We should have a free family movie put on every week and that would bring people into town to dine and shop,” Kirby said. Melanie Barton, Placer County Museum administrator, said there were five museums within a mile of City Hall and she wants to see the arts included in any future Auburn promotions. Mayor Mike Holmes, who moderated the session that went nearly an hour and a half, agreed with Barton. A surprising offer of business loans could possibly help jump-start the local economy. Brent Smith, president of Sierra Economic Development Corporation, has an office on Auburn’s Wall Street, that specializes in business loan programs. “We provide loans up to $100,000,” Smith said. “We’re a nonprofit and our loans are lower.” Auburn businesses need to make some changes in order to compete during these challenging economic times. Mark Lund, president and chief executive director of Community 1st Bank, said he has heard the complaints about parking problems in Downtown Auburn. He also talked about the out-of-town competition. “Your competitor is not a block away,” Lund said. “It’s Costco. It’s the Walmarts.” Over and over again, participants pointed out that Auburn has not been advertised as a place to visit and stay. “No one has bothered to wine and dine Triple-A,” said Margareta Swann, co-owner of The Golden Swann Jewelry & Collectibles Gallery on Lincoln Way. “We are more than a crossroad on Highway 49.” Paul Petruzzelli, a retired businessman, who owned four T-shirt shops in the Lake Tahoe area, said he would offer his services to Holmes and the city, free of charge, in order to help promote Auburn. “I know the problems of advertising,” Petruzzelli said after the meeting. “Some good coupons would encourage people to shop locally.” According to one resident, an independent survey showed that Auburn lacks activities after 5 p.m. and not enough hotels. Holmes responded by saying that the Hampton Inn is being built here soon. Holmes was looking for ideas that could help the economy within the next 60 to 90 days. Randy Martin of Trailscape in Weimar offered the idea of promoting Auburn as a place to bike. “People come here from the Bay Area to ride their bicycles,” Martin said. “It would get people to spend the night.” When the participants were filing out the door, Petruzzelli was asked to comment on the meeting. “I think the meeting served a good purpose and it needs to be ongoing,” he said.
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Old Town had half a billboard near Newcastle for many years, but just couldn't afford to keep it going. I would suggest, however, that it is more important for the City to assist with the costs of printing of shoppers guides (again, Old Town has had one for years), better signage directing people to both Old and Downtown, and to available parking. Next, make sure our streets give a good appearance. Some streets leading away from Downtown in particular are a mess and have needed repaving for decades. We have a few top notch restaurants, and many more excellent "family style" restaurants, but we need entertainment venues to keep families in town. Once that is established, starting out on Friday and Saturday nights but then every day of the week, the stores will have even better reasons to stay open later so that folks who work outside of town have a chance to shop here after work.
I have found several reports on the web that should be reviewed by interested parties. Auburn is a great town in so many ways and lacks in others... several reports will highlight these shortcomings.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&q=traffic+counts+i-80+and+bell+road+Auburn+CA&btnG=Search
I never understood why at 1;30AM ... I was stopped because I did not use a blinker when changing lanes and no one else was on the road. The officer kindly asked me if I had been drinking and stated, "this was the time drinkers were found on the road"...was he looking for dollar bills...or was he doing his job? I now avoid driving through your town.....can't wonder why? So this type of behavior may be turning other people off too...beware the messages sent...
Your biggest draw is your location...above the fog and below the snow yet close to everything this wonderful area and all that CA, Sacramento, Tahoe and San Fransisco have to offer. Why do I still drive up 1-80 and see these ugly steel bridges overhead? Since massive amount of cars drive by.....I would think hard about the image and grabbing their attention....are these people passing a classy small hometown proud of their surroundings and do they just "have to check this place out"? What you see is what you get the old saying goes....
Now your home pricing and real estate values have actually driven people from the area and yes even from the state. Apparently supply and demand issues along with lots of greed in both the residential and commercial markets have had a negative impact over the past ten or so years...we are all guilty of driving the young families away and out of the Auburn area and thus our school funding potentials for the entire area have taken a negative hit..not sure if our greed can ever be overcome by any of us. Demographics change...and our area has changed very rapidly..once what was affordable is no more... and the numbers in the reports substantiate these findings. $57,000 dollar incomes can not afford a $350,000 dollar homes...you appear have a problem and so does the entire state for that matter?
Bottom line... grab their attention as they approach a wonderful town from I-80, be nice, encourage them to stay and to invest in the area and attempt through proper planning to provide a more affordable and wonderful place to raise a family, own a home and or work and or retire here. Paint brushes are cheap and so is a labor of love.
Also...Do not allow any federal and state mandates to drive up the costs of living here based on whims from others affecting your region...clearly these are nails in the coffin for any progress you seek. The more is costs to live here...the less new people that will come...pretty simple really.
No thanks! I don't want more billboards. I think they are trashy. If you drive down I80 into Roseville, you will notice that at the city line, you will notice no more billboards. All of a sudden you seen green bushes and attractive walls. It suddenly becomes like a park entrance, green and practically free from trash and No billboards.
It sure beats Auburn and hwy 49 side show where suddenly there are very few bushes (they were bulldozed some years ago to widen the road or something-not sure why). Trash lines the streets. We need to be educating our public especially high schoolers who throw their McDonalds cups and containers all over the place. McDonalds and other fast food places should instigate a pick up and dispose properly campaign. There are better ways to promote Auburn. Try attractive roadways and teen and senior pickups along the streets. Emphasize cleanliness and make Auburn beautiful. That will attract tourists. No billboards please.
I have a friend in Roseville who rode a "pocket rocket" motorcycle on Forest Hill Road only 1 MPH over the speed limit and was given a ticket by a Placer County Sheriff. Him and is wife (engineer & banker) were out for a law abiding low noise Sunday ride touring Auburn. The Sheriff asked him if he knew why he was getting a ticket. My friend responded no. The Sheriff replied "we don't want your kind up here".
My friend used to get his motorcycle serviced in Auburn off 49 at Dry Creek where he originally purchased the bike, but now, why even come up the hill if you’re not wanted here?
They would have eaten lunch and dinner and likely bought something while spending the day up the hill in our region but we told them to “go away”. Where is the sense in that? Now they ride up highway 50 where they are wanted in the other wine district.
If the motorcycle event really happened and those words were spoken...the sheriff officer should have been fired...that would have been an easy fix. Soon motorcycles will be flying in the air.......being invented right now. Paint does wonders...get permission to paint the bridges and if the name Auburn is on them....that might help. Classy heritage colors might be donated by the paint companies around town. These huge painted train bridges will then be your billboards of love and they would look great! We can then avoid the traditional billboards.