Your Turn: Here’s What Readers Would Like to See Downtown (HINT: Ice Skating)

Earlier this week, I shared some wish list items I have for downtown Flint, but in reality I was more curious to hear what others would like to see to complement some of the existing businesses, restaurants, and other features. You all didn’t disappoint, either. We had dozens of comments on social media and emails.

There was some overlap on some topics, but I would say the greatest alignment was around the outdoor ice skating rink on the campus of the University of Michigan-Flint. Many people would love to see it reopened.

“Can UM-F and the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) collaborate and re-purpose the covered ice-rink?,” Adil wrote. “Ice skating back at UM-Flint!,” Rhiannon added.

Jerry pitched an alternate use for the ice skating rink if it’s not going to be reopened. “I think that we should have a safe destination downtown for roller skaters,” he wrote. “This is a clean sport, and good for family fun. Imagine maybe the parking garage with colored lights and music to skate by. Or the area where U of M once had ice skating.”

Here are a few other ideas that I thought were interesting:

“More actual arts, a real nightlife, paid live musicians that play original music, no sound ordinance curfew, food everywhere open later, a constant flow of good DJ’s. Less acoustic cover musicians. More outdoor events. More free parking.” – Pauly

“I think there’s a lot of small, cheap things we could do even now. Allow street parking spaces to be used as outdoor seating for adjacent restaurants (build small patios in them), add more public seating, make investments in small things like lamppost banners, hanging baskets, new/cleaned trash cans, street trees, etc. Long term, just a lot more housing! More people living downtown is the basis for more things to do!” – Joel

“1. Affordable event space.; 2. A small grocery store downtown.; 3. Riverfront Park becoming the focus for downtown events and music once the refurb is done.; 4. Downtown dance club. (I am sure there are dozens more, but this is good for a start).” – Flint Monster Society

“More shopping options period … affordable boutiques as well as convenience. More EV charging. Also PLEASE bring back the trash cans!” – Sara

“Definitely the top of my list would be a proper 24-hour coney island. Bonus points for wood panels on the walls and a sassy wait staff.” – Thomas

“Properly laid bricks!” – Mark

“I’d love to see a restaurant re-open on the top of the Northbank center.” – Derek

“Thank you for saying the flat lot is unhinged! 100% agree. My first would be a coffee shop … that’s open at 7 a.m. I know this is just wild to want coffee before going to work but I’m dreaming big here. Second would be another tall building. Not sure what I would like in that tall building but cities need tall buildings right?” – Lindsey

“I’d like to see a town square area. In Ann Arbor they close streets on certain blocks for a day a week or so and people can mill about them as well.” – Sherry

“Somebody needs to do something with the original Halo Burger. Not a Trump-style demo, but someone to appreciate and enhance the history.” – Patty

“I have been talking about a battle of the bands type event with a big headliner to draw for at least a decade.” – Dawn

“1. I’ve been saying for years we need a 24/7/365 coney island, ideally a block or two from the bus station (though I think Tom Z’s is just on the edge of close enough!).; 2. It would be nice to have a full-service supermarket near downtown. With much love for the smaller markets within city limits, I wish I didn’t have to drive to Burton to buy a printer cartridge, a light bulb, or mulch.; 3. Yes, to the skating rink.; 4. If we aren’t ready to do away with the flatlot yet, we could repurpose a third of it to be a suitable town square, starting with a stage and grassy area.; 5. Dedicated, protected bike lanes on every major street downtown (and extending out on Saginaw, 5th, MLK, Lapeer, Fenton, Court, etc.).

“I agree with what Stefanie is saying about the neighborhoods, but also that it is a big subject that warrents an in-depth conversation. But what I’d *really* like to see in every conversation, whether about Downtown or the neighborhoods (and props to you for kick-starting this one) is a process by which ideas flow from the bottom up (ie. from residents to officials and philanthropists) instead of having the “good things” being decided in some unknown conference room and passed down for us to gratefully receive.” – Connor

“I understand the motivation to put more destination-focused entities in the downtown area, but with all the housing downtown it would be nice for residents to have a grocery store (I love the market and shop their regularly, but face it, you can’t buy toilet paper there, and they’re only open three days a week), maybe a dry cleaners, more bike lanes and places to lock your bike … I think if we really want downtown Flint to be a vibrant city we have to look at cities where there is a density of residents, like Chicago or New York and take a look at their neighborhoods. Right now downtown Flint looks a lot like a mini Ann Arbor. It’s an entertainment district, which means the people who live there have to leave the downtown area to do anything they want to do other than eat out. However, if the goal is to make the downtown area more of a destination for the whole county, then we should prioritize the entertainment district atmosphere. In that case, we don’t need more residential housing. We need commercial entities like clothing stores, bookstores, a wider diversity of restaurant choices, maybe a dance club, or conference facilities.” – Dawn

Reddit Responses

I also shared my original post on the r/Flint page, and it was getting a lot of great responses. That is … until the moderators of that page deleted the post because apparently sharing a link to your own news story is “self-promotion.” So I just want to do an old dude soap box moment here for a second: places like Reddit, and really all social media platforms, would not have much to discuss without content created by journalists and news outlets. In fact, a significant amount of posts on r/Flint are links to local news articles. Getting people talking about their community is a good thing! Original reporting and opinion pieces on community topics are good things! The responses to the now-deleted r/Flint post discussing ideas for downtown are good things! So I hope if either of the moderators of that page read this (or the email I sent to them that they never replied to), they’ll reconsider what they consider “self-promotion” on the page. But here were some great suggestions that I caught before the post and conversation it started was deleted.

“Flat lot development into housing/mixed use on lower floors, but with more realistic housing options, not the ultra modern $2,000 a month developments, or the $500 senior citizen income driven efficiencies, but a mid tier apartment option without a bunch of bells and whistles; pedestrian bridge/green walkway from downtown to Cultural Center area over 475; MTA hub move to old county building location across from City Hall; modern/updated Halo Burger location right off of 69 across from the gas station.” – Hejohnson19583 on r/Flint

“They should have another restaurant and another brewery!” – roadlbocked on r/flint

“More homeless shelters, entry-level jobs, and public greenery and parks.” – gothcowpoke on r/flint

“Cars banned from the bricks. They weren’t designed for your F-150. It will be safer. It will increase revenue for those businesses.” – wentzworldwords on r/flint

“A bakery, not at the farmers market but a real five days a week bakery.” – millionsarescreaming on r/flint

“After witnessing the largest concert ever in Ann Arbor, I do believe that Atwood has huge potential for the right acts.” – Geronimo

“Cover 475 and turn it into a park.” – dacurtman5000 on r/flint

“Less parking lots and more mixed use buildings for a variety of businesses.” – tabris949 on r/flint

“Good paying jobs should be the first answer.” – cutespatoot on r/flint

“FASHION & GROCERIES. I’ve lived downtown and only hang out downtown for 15 years. I’ve always said that Flint is set up to be like a mini Ann Arbor. We voted against it being a casino town and chose a college town. We do absolutely nothing for the college kids. We’ve got the bar thing locked down. The residents and college kids need food and clothing stores. And for them to be open reasonable hours. Let the people who are out past 7 p.m. have access to these things. The only place I can go is Family Dollar when I need to grab something quick. My car has had the windows busted out twice there. We should be able to walk downtown and go to a book store, browse fashion stores or a thrift store, eat dinner, grab some groceries for home, see a movie, go bowling, take the dog for a walk in the park, etc.” – bde_merch_to_fire on r/flint

Future Questions

I honestly loved the responses to this post, and read so many great ideas, including a lot of things that had never occurred to me. I also want to acknowledge a post from Stefanie, who wrote, “I want to see this kind of energy for the neighborhoods and not just downtown. PLEASE.” I totally agree with that, and I think we can use this reader feedback format for a lot of different topics in the city. (And hopefully the r/Flint mods will realize that this type of discussion being included on their platform is a good thing that brings more voices in on a topic and not something that should get banned).

Ultimately, the goal is for people with resources or influence in the city to hear directly from the people who live here about things they’d like to see. Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate and share!