AUSTIN, Texas — The Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) released the results of a survey on Tuesday that showed one of the main concerns of businesses downtown was getting customers to come back.
"The businesses themselves have to feel comfortable in having a plan to reopen, but also the consumers have to feel comfortable and safe and willing to come back to the urban core and to support those businesses," said Dewitt Peart, the CEO and president of the Downtown Austin Alliance.
He said on Tuesday the DAA is anxious to see what the "consumer confidence" will be when businesses reopen, calling pedestrian traffic "the lifeblood" of downtown storefronts.
The DAA is working to build consumer confidence through its ambassadors cleaning every day, multiple times a day.
"We’re out every day covering about 200 blocks of downtown," said Matt Macioge, the DAA's director of operations. "Every day they’re out cleaning the infrastructure. Anything a person would touch, we’re doing our best to do an enhanced cleaning on. That includes wiping down handrails, doorknobs, pressure washing sidewalks, cleaning the trash cans, making sure that traffic control signals are clean and safe for you to touch as well."
Macioge said this type of cleaning started before the stay-at-home order was in place.
"This is one of the things that we can do. We can ensure that our area is safe and clean. Our hope is that by ensuring the city is clean and safe we can instill the confidence in people to return at the time they feel comfortable to come back," said Macioge.
Macioge said he knows this is bigger than just the downtown area. He said the DAA is working with corresponding city departments toward "a comprehensive vision as we move towards recovery."
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