Main Street, look here

In evaluation of Main Street, Robert Gibbs observes the following criteria:

• Color and placement of trash recepticles, vending machines, benches and tables
• Overall polish and upkeep of area
• Efficient utilization of preexisting retail space
• Disuse of obstacles such as planter boxes, shade trees
• Materials used in pavement

No, the well established, distinctive retailers of Main Street should never be absorbed into a mall. There is grandeur in the stand-alone department stores and boutiques that line elegant thoroughfares; for them to be lost in structures synonymous with suburbia would be quite distasteful. In a larger sense, Main Street business centers provide their associated cities with differentiation and character that the mall (with the exception of certain architectural gems) utterly lacks. Moreover, Main Street locales often serve as tourist attractions, luring people from near and far and are economy drivers.

In my personal evaluation of main street, the following are of importance:

• Width of sidewalks
• Type of thoroughfare
• Tenant quality
• Architecture
• Materials used in retailer's facade