Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times
At a Grand Junction City Council workshop on Jan. 13, City Manager Mike Bennett presented an overview of proposed changes to the Fourth and Fifth Street pilot program from a memorandum prepared by city staff.
Bennett then handed the presentation over to Transportation Director Trent Prall, who further detailed the data and recommendations.
Some of the data presented about business downtown since the pilot program began is particularly relevant and puzzling to Main Street businesses.
Regarding sales-tax data, the memorandum said, “Staff reviewed, but with only one full month of returns since both corridors were finished the data was inconclusive. We will update when we have the data from those months.”
Also, the Downtown Development Authority cited cell phone data from Placer.ai that showed a 3.4 percent increase in visitors and a 0.4 percent increase in visitations to the selected zone. The data compared cell phone visitations in the zone from Sept. 18 through Dec. 10 in both 2023 and 2024.
The selected zone has a western boundary along N. First Street, an eastern boundary at Eighth Street, a northern boundary on Rood Avenue, and a southern boundary a half block north of Ute Avenue.
The memorandum concludes, “This data depicts no reduction in downtown visitation since implementing the Fourth and Fifth Street improvements.”
The Business Times took a deeper look at the data and spoke with downtown businesses about if and how much cell phone records cited by the Downtown Development Authority correlated accurately with their sales numbers and foot traffic for the year.
The Business Times contacted seven Main Street businesses. Six of the seven reported a decline in sales compared to 2023.
One business, Pollux Clothing, reported an increase in sales, attributing it to a managerial change and new items being offered, but noted the pilot program has negatively affected both sales and overall foot traffic.
All seven businesses said customers mention and some frequently mention negative aspects of the pilot program. With some saying it has caused them to visit the downtown area less often.
Additionally, all seven businesses said the Downtown Development Authority has not contacted them to ask about changes in sales since the pilot program began.
While the total visits show a 0.4 percent increase in overall visitations for the time frame, the hourly visits chart on Page 9 of the Placer ai report shows visitations are down at all hours of the day except for 5 and 6 PM. The daily visits chart shows visitations are down on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, while visitations are up Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Both The Dream Cafe and The Rockslide reported sales are down during the week and on the weekend.
Downtown events are a potential outlier that could explain why weekend visitation numbers increased overall but did not correlate with hourly increases throughout the day or with higher daily sales for many downtown businesses.
One event that may have skewed the total visitation numbers when comparing the two time frames is the ColorAuto Detailing Downtown Car Show. The car show, an annual event, was held on Sept. 16 in 2023, two days before the data analysis period began on Sept. 18. However, it was held on Sept. 21 in 2024, falling within the analysis period for the second data set.
Downtown Development Director Brandon Stam said Placer AI data cannot definitively tie trends to 4th and 5th streets. He acknowledged controversy over the project isn’t beneficial to businesses and expressed hope that city adjustments, such as improving sight lines and reverting to the old post office configuration, will address concerns.
The Two Rivers Convention Center is included within the project boundary. The convention center hosts numerous large events, some of which are new, while attendance at recurring events can fluctuate, and event dates vary year to year.
“It’s not right that they included the event center,” Pollux Clothing owner Sayde Sadd said, noting many attendees at Two Rivers events do not visit Main Street.
Sadd also said tourists who frequent her shop, including repeat visitors, have complained about the Fourth and Fifth Street project and the nearby Homeward Bound of the Grand Valley Resource Center, which provides services for homeless individuals.
Finally, while the Homeward Bound of the Grand Valley Resource Center is not within the zone, Grand Valley Catholic Outreach Director Jody Visconti Clow said it is possible homeless people have affected the visitation numbers. She said many homeless individuals go to Main Street to use the free WiFi for a variety of reasons, including medical issues, safety and being able to make calls when unable to pay for data.
“It’s hard to do anything without a phone, including reaching friends and family. One of the first things we collectively try to do is make sure they have a phone to stay in contact,” she said.
Clow also noted a larger number of homeless people are staying closer to the resource center and moving downtown to set up camps or find shelter at night than in past years. Furthermore, with the resource center closing at 5:30 p.m., it is harder to make it to places that are further away before dark.