The Cincinnati Enquirer
More people believe downtown is safer and cleaner in 2011 compared to 2010, according to Downtown Cincinnati Inc.’s annual report, which it released on Thursday.
According to the results of its annual Downtown Perceptions Survey, conducted by LaVerdad Marketing, DCI reported that 63 percent of respondents believe downtown is safe, up 5 percent from 2010, and 70 percent believe it’s clean, up 10 percent. According to the survey, 80 percent have an overall positive impression of downtown, up 13 percent.
DCI said its annual Visit Survey found that the average downtown visit lasts 3.5 hours, and the spend per visit is $95.77, a 5.8 percent increase over 2010.
“Of course, there are still people who declare at parties and other functions that downtown is unsafe, unclean and there is little to do. These are people who have not been downtown recently and experienced all of the progress,” said David Ginsburg, DCI’s president and CEO, in the annual report.
The non-profit business organization, which was formed in 1994 and now has more than 210 corporate members, focuses its efforts on three areas: maintaining and enhancing a safe and clean downtown; enhancing the image of downtown as a vibrant hub of activity; and advocating for business and residential growth downtown.
The group’s grass-roots efforts include ambassadors who pick up and remove trash, clean graffiti, pull and prevent weeds, and work with police to reduce panhandling. Its marketing efforts last year included producing 125,000 downtown guides distributed to more than 400 outlets.