The new Verona First program makes it easy to choose  Verona businesses, first! Verona First is part of an innovative new regional program called Downtown First, which is designed to promote and support the downtown business districts in our region. 

Visit www.downtownfirst.net, and select Verona, and you'll find an entire program focused on marketing downtown Verona businesses. Downtown First promotes downtown Verona and encourages residents and visitors to enjoy the wonderful businesses that Verona has to offer.

One of the first services offered through Verona First is an online Business Directory, found at www.downtownfirst.net. The directory also provides an opportunity for individual business owners to enhance their directory listing with an advanced webpage system, through which they can offer coupons, discounts, information about special events and products/services and more! Downtown First is currently offering business owners a FREE 60 day webpage trial. Visit www.downtownfirst.net to learn more.

Downtown First is a downtown business support and promotion program created by Town Center Associates.

On December 16, 2009, Sustainable Pittsburgh sponsored a team of architects and planners to participate in a problem-solving exercise with the Verona Business District Advisory Committee (BDAC). Sustainable Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that seeks to integrate economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality to bringing sustainable solutions to communities and businesses.
 
This problem-solving exercise included a conversation between the sponsored team, the Verona BDAC and members of the community present at the meeting. Issues discussed included how to best handle traffic along the very busy Allegheny River Boulevard and to funnel some of that traffic to the secondary business district and the parking lots that exist along Railroad Street-thereby connecting the business district with the park, boat clubs, and public river access.
 
Noted public comment included ideas like the need for signage that promotes community events, and ways to promote the walkable nature of downtown Verona. The architects and planners at the meeting made various suggestions to the group, such as the possibility of traffic-calming measures; the need to create a pedestrian-friendly feel via landscaping, lighting, and an additional pedestrian crossing; and the need to encourage second floor occupancies to generate business and activity in the central business district.

PHLF UPDATE

DOWNTOWN VERONA E-NEWSLETTER

You are reading the Verona FOCUS: your quarterly downtown e-newsletter. By using e-newsletters instead of print newsletters, we can send the information about our downtown revitalization efforts to a greater number of people and save paper--a win for the community and the environment!    

To receive your copy of the e-newsletter via email, simply send an email to tca@towncenter.info and indicate your email address, as well as the name of the town or towns for which you'd like to receive the e-newsletters. You can also call Town Center Associates to sign up at 412-577-7447.  

Please also take a moment to forward this email along to your friends, colleagues, family and neighbors, and encourage them to sign up today! This will help to inform (and involve) more citizens about the revitalization efforts taking place in our downtown.