Took that today and voiced my support for not only continuing, but expanding the district footprint to include more of the warehouse dist., but also said they should use compostable cups if not already, and add more trash receptacles around.
I still hold out hope they might try the trash molocks again. Especially if they expand the social district which, as you point out, is going to produce more trash around the city.
I also hope they try the molocks again but I think the communal bins like the ones they use in Spain would be a good stepping stone. This set of bins handle all of the trash generated from one city block in Valencia, which means that there aren’t smaller trash receptacles on every single corner which are prone to overflowing or private bins that need to go to the curb every week.
They have these in Rome. They never look this neat. But Rome is never that clean.
I think these dumpsters would be a hard sell. Folks will stick with the ugly they know rather than a neater, but still ugly, replacement. Molcks are the answer. I can’t believe the city caved so quickly. I think the atmosphere of that particular moment doomed them. They need to try them again.
Put the Moloks on S. West St. near Union Station.
My survey feedback:
"Most restaurants and bars that I know/go to regularly have opted out of participating due to it negatively competing with their alcohol sales and causing additional liability for their business regarding ALE and most of their employees dislike the idea of it.
COR should take these concerns into consideration and base the program initiatives more around city exploration during outdoor events and festivals or create outdoor programming surrounding art/culture tours, to make better use of the existing district program without infringing on local businesses and their employees.
I personally have no issue with the program or its (creative) expansion but have not taken advantage of it simply because I haven’t had a good use case opportunity… that, and none of the bars I frequent bother participating for aforementioned reasons."
Legally, I’m not sure if this is possible. But, is there a way that restaurants could set up a temporary outdoor bartending space to take advantage of the social district?
Imo, part of the issue with the social district is the fact that it’s difficult to convert passer-byers into customers since they have to physically walk into the store, get the bartender’s attention, tell them it’s sip-and-stroll, close out, leave a tip, etc.
It would make the process 10x easier if there were temporary outdoor setups that allowed them to sell alcohol directly on the street out in front of their business. Again, I’m not sure of the legality here, but it would convert a ton more sales to those looking to grab a drink “in-the-moment”.