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The Assembly has received approval of a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to undertake the second phase of the regional retail study. This money has been matched with cash and in-kind contributions from local sources. Last year the Assembly conducted a unique drive shed study of twelve of the region’s larger downtowns. Conducted in partnership with Penn State’s Institute of State and Regional Affairs and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, this project mapped 5, 10, 15, and 20 minute drive sheds and collected data about families living within these drive sheds and their shopping patterns. 

This study will include an intercept survey where interviewers stop passersby in eleven downtowns during business hours. Nine downtowns in the original proposal are Carlisle, Chambersburg, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Gettysburg, Harrisburg Lancaster, Lebanon, and Shippensburg. Hanover and York have since been added to the study. The survey work will be conducted by the Center for Survey Research at the Institute for State and Regional Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg. The study will commence this summer and is projected to last 24 months.

The Daytime Population Study is the second major initiative by the Retail committee looking at the vitality of the region’s downtown. The first was the Driveshed Study, which mapped the demographics within close proximity to our downtown areas.

Again working with Penn State researchers, individuals will be interviewing people on the street to understand what brings them downtown and what shopping opportunities they may be seeking. Simultaneously, opinions of sampled shop owners and their employees will be collected to understand missed opportunities among owners and staff of existing downtown businesses. This study will commence in the coming months and will be completed by the end of summer, 2005.