In 2018, the first Radically Rural summit was hosted by the Hannah Grimes Center and The Keene Sentinel. The long-standing organizations had decades and centuries, respectively, of working models to share with rural communities across the country. Since then, Radically Rural has grown and changed, but sharing working models is still at the center of what we do. This work isn’t completely selfless as it also positions us within a rural network of innovators and leaders who have their own working models to share. 

When our hometown of Keene, NH started planning a downtown infrastructure project, we knew we had to tap the Radically Rural network for advice on supporting main street businesses from other communities who have been through this. We put out a call for speakers in our newsletter and hosted a virtual roundtable on navigating downtown disruptions. The full recording is available, but we also wanted to share the highlights with you below.

A huge thank you to community leaders Mary Hodson (Hutchinson, MN), Andrea Powers (Hot Springs, SD), and Mandy Hegwood (Laurel, MS) who took the time to share their experiences supporting main street businesses and community members.

Tips & Tricks From Community Leaders Who Have Been There, Done That

• Keep pedestrian walkways open when you can.
• Write a community liaison position into the engineer contracts.
• Be creative about driving business to those most impacted! Laurel Main Street put together bingo cards, encouraging community members to visit different businesses downtown. Anyone who visited all the businesses on the card was entered into a prize drawing.
• Utilize back entrances and host alley tours so customers know where to enter their favorite shops.
• Communication is key! Hutchinson, MN delivered physical binders to each downtown business owner, detailing the scope and timeline of the project. All three communities we talked to used digital communication including both emails and Facebook groups.
• Mark beginnings and endings. Hot Springs, SD plans to host a cone burning party to mark the end of their construction project. They’re building a huge, eco-friendly cone specifically for burning.
• Wayfinding is important to keep community members sane and business owners happy. Examples include shooting video tours of temporary parking and entrances and hosting a cardboard sign competition.

Check out more ideas for downtown business owners here.

Written by Lillian Chase.