PITTSBURG, Kan. — Tuesday night’s regular commission meeting had a relatively short agenda. The commissioners approved a recommendation by the Traffic Advisory Board to convert the intersections at 16th and Pine and 18th and Pine, near The Center, from two-way stops into four-way stops for safety reasons. The new signs will be added over the summer.
In keeping with World Cup Fever, the city officially passed the ordinance to allow drinking establishments and retail liquor stores to operate for 23 hours a day during the international tournament between June 11 and July 19, if they choose to do so.
The bulk of the evening was an annual update by Chair Trista Shuster and Co-Chair Treann Mulkin of the Downtown Advisory Board (DAB). The board is made up of seven members who represent the business owners, residents, and retailers located in the downtown area, as well as the city at large. Downtown Pittsburg is a geographic area stretching from 14th Street on the north to Euclid Street; and from Elm Street on the East to Pine Street.
The purpose of the board is to highlight Downtown Pittsburg businesses and community events and to promote public safety in the district. The DAB has a role in Pitt 150 celebrations, Art Walk, 6-2-0 Day, the Hispanic Music Festival, Christmas Tree Lighting, and Small Business Saturday to name a few. These festivals draw nearly 9,000 visitors annually to the downtown area. The board also champions better lighting downtown as well as demonstrating a need for a traffic light at 3rd and Broadway.
The board is currently working with Explore Crawford County to develop a website and visitor map featuring a business directory, parking locations, list of events, and a digital walking tour of downtown.
Among the long-term goals of the board is to create and promote Downtown Pittsburg as a regional destination and attracting tourist dollars into the city. While much of the district along Broadway has seen substantial improvements, the board advocates for those improvements to be carried through to Euclid Street, a project that was estimated a couple of years ago at $2 million.
Mulkin is a big supporter of bringing trees back to downtown to provide shade for visitors but was met with kindhearted resistance from Mayor Chuck Munsell who remembers the mess the birds left. Mulkin also champions an arch over Broadway around the middle school to welcome visitors, but said that is a big ask. As for some simple aesthetics, piping music along the sidewalks would add to the ambiance of the district as visitors mill about or walk the length of Broadway.
The DAB meets on the third Monday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meeting place rotates among downtown businesses and invites anyone looking to get involved.
This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews
