1. Survey of Downtown Pullman, Washington
6/26/2019
Survey of Downtown Pullman, Washington
Joan Giese, Clinical Associate Professor
Max Isen, Research Assistant
Taylor Shewchuk, Research Assistant
Callum Davies, Research Assistant

2. Downtown Pullman, Washington
6/26/2019
Downtown Pullman, Washington

3. Why Downtown Pullman? Why Now?
6/26/2019
Who conducted the research?
WSU student research teams in the undergraduate marketing research classes
10 teams surveyed about 1400 WSU undergraduate students in Fall 2017
16 teams surveyed about 740 Pullman residents in Spring 2018
Why Downtown Pullman? Why Now?

4. Pullman 2040 Survey: Visioning Questions (Steering Committee, 2017)
Visitors
What places do you like to take out-of- town visitors?
WSU
62%
Downtown
36%
Pullman (R/E/S)
58%
Moscow (R/E/S)
23%
Parks/Paths/Trails
32%
County Parks
43%
Another Town
30%
R/E/S – Restaurant/Entertainment/Shopping

5. Pullman 2040 Survey: Visioning Questions
Visitors
What places do you avoid taking out-of- town visitors?
Downtown
College Hill
Greek Row
Certain Stores
Campus
Apartment Land
Grand
Bishop Blvd
Pot Shops
Moscow
Avoid
Downtown – lack of R/E/S, not vibrant, not clean, traffic
College Hill – not conducive to family-friendly and non-college crowd
Grand/Bishop/Downtown – traffic, infrastructure

6. Pullman 2040 Survey: Visioning Questions
5. What should be preserved in our community?
6. What should be changed in our community?
Parks
Downtown
Green Space
Shopping
Trails
Infrastructure
Small Town Feel
Business Recruitment
Historic Areas
Restaurant
Education
Traffic
Safe
Parking
Bypass/Alternate Routes
Community
Vacant Buildings
Locally Owned Businesses
Preserve:
Parks/Green Space/Trails
Small Town Feel
Safe
Education
Changed:
Downtown
Infrastructure – Traffic, Parking, Bypass
Business Recruitment
Vacant Buildings

7. What are the perceptions of WSU undergraduate students?
6/26/2019
What are the perceptions of WSU undergraduate students?

8. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
About Our Respondents
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
N = 1,392

9. WSU Students are Neutral about Downtown
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
N=1,392

10. Neutral about Dining but Negative about Retail
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
N=539, 215

11. Transportation is Not the Issue … Downtown is Not Fun
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
N=649, 1020

12. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
6/26/2019
So, what's going on here? 
Neutral
“I look forward to shopping downtown” (p = .337)
“I look forward to dining downtown” (p = .335)
DISAGREE
“I look forward to spending time with my friends downtown”
(p = .01)
NOT BECAUSE:
“Downtown is located too far away from where I live” (p < 0.001)
“I typically don’t have transportation to get downtown” (p = .11)
“I feel like I am not welcome downtown” (p < .001)
BECAUSE: 
“Downtown Pullman is NOT a fun place to go” (p < .001)
Neutral on “forward to shopping & dining” - no difference b/w mean & mid-point of scale (4 pt. scale)
STRONGLY DISAGREE with friends -- p value is significantly different from mid point of scale
Students do not think downtown is too far away, they DO have transportation, and they do feel welcome
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

13. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
6/26/2019
What significantly impacts WSU undergraduate students’ decisions to go to Downtown Pullman?
Friends desire to go to Downtown Pullman 
1. ‘Good deals’ at stores
2. Festive lights are displayed in Downtown Pullman
3. More restaurant choices
TAKEAWAYS:
Blending the downtown & WSU culture to include promotions and attractive aesthetics is important.
Focusing on these aspects may increase undergraduate foot traffic to Downtown Pullman.
No significant difference between 1&2
Significant difference between 2&3
Significant difference between 3&4
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

14. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
6/26/2019
What has a neutral impact on WSU students’ decisions to go to Downtown Pullman?
More places to hang out
Theme
Locally owned stores
Bakery 
TAKEAWAYS:
Undergraduates are ambivalent about these aspects of downtown.
These aspects are unlikely to impact foot traffic to Downtown Pullman either positively or negatively.
The same question revealed these as neutral or ambivalent to influencing a decision to come downtown -- focusing on these issues should be secondary
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

15. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)
6/26/2019
What does not significantly impact students’ decisions to go to Downtown Pullman?
More parking
Frequent transportation
Outdoor hang out spots
Vibrant atmosphere
TAKEAWAYS:
There is no need to invest in these aspects of Downtown Pullman for undergraduates.
These will likely have no impact of going to Downtown Pullman in regards to these aspects.
Lastly, the same question revealed that these aspects would not have any influence on going downtown -- we suggest to not invest in these issues at this time.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

16. What do we know from WSU Students?
6/26/2019
What do we know from WSU Students?
In general, WSU students are neutral about Downtown Pullman and dining, but negative about retail.
Students do not think that Downtown Pullman is too far away; they do have transportation; and they feel welcome.
Downtown is perceived to not be fun and not a place where friends want to go.
Students are more likely to go to downtown if:
friends want to go;
there are good deals and festive lighting; and
there are more restaurant choices.

17. Demographic Data Paints a Deceptive Picture
6/26/2019
Demographic Data Paints a Deceptive Picture
Whitman County population: 49,046
WSU Pullman population: 21,022 
Whitman County Median Household Income: $38,636
Whitman County Poverty Percentage: 25.9%

18. A Revealing Example: Insomnia Cookies is a Hit with Students
6/26/2019
A Revealing Example: Insomnia Cookies is a Hit with Students

19. Post Hoc: Discretionary Income Survey
Launched a survey directed at discretionary income and how it is spent locally for students (n = 66)
Students on average eat out and go to bars once a week
Average money spent eating out is $15.66/week
Average money spent at bars is $22.76/week
Students on average online retail shop once a month
Average money spent is $37.86/month
Most students get their discretionary income from their parents or from working during the school year

20. What are the perceptions of Pullman residents?
6/26/2019
What are the perceptions of Pullman residents?

21. PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)
About our Respondents...
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)
(N = 736)

22. If you could change one thing in Downtown Pullman, what would it be
If you could change one thing in Downtown Pullman, what would it be? (based on 675 comments)

23. More specifically, what do Pullman Residents want?

24. Pullman Residents, in general, aren't very satisfied.
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

25. Dining is not satisfactory to some...
"More dining options, including a bakery!"
"More family friendly restaurant selections"
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

26. Downtown Pullman should look better...
"Get rid of the eyesores such as Mimosa. That is a huge embarrassment"
"I would freshen up the storefronts. Fresh coat of paint, whatever, to make it look updated and vibrant." 
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

27. Lack of Engagement with the Stores Downtown
"Many of the businesses are not walk in businesses. When I walk in a city's downtown, I want to be drawn into their stores/shops/restaurants. Very few of the stores downtown pull you in. I am not going to walk by an architecture firm or law office and spontaneously go in and spend money."
RESIDENTS

28. Parking and Traffic still slowing things down
"more free parking that isn't restricted to short time frames"
“change Main Street to 2 lanes and include diagonal parking" 
“reroute large trucks away from downtown"
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

29. What do we know from Pullman Residents?
6/26/2019
What do we know from Pullman Residents?
Families with one or more children are the most dissatisfied with Downtown Pullman and with dining and aesthetics, more specifically.
Female residents are significantly more dissatisfied than males when it comes to shopping and dining.
Long-term residents are more dissatisfied than short-term residents.
Parking and Transportation are big issues!
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

30. If you could add one thing to Downtown Pullman, what would it be?
6/26/2019
If you could add one thing to Downtown Pullman, what would it be?
More affordable and diverse dining options
More parking and angle parking
Route the trucks away from DT
Boutique, novelty, and art stores
A specialty grocer
Family friendly gathering areas and outdoor spaces
Retail stores
Nicer looking buildings
PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

31. Recommendations From students: From residents:
6/26/2019
Recommendations
From students:
Create “fun” reasons to be in downtown (conduct more research)
Offer good deals
Offer more dining variety
Make downtown festive (provide “great ‘selfie’ opportunities”)
[Note: still unsure about what retail mix would resonate with students (conduct more research)]
From residents:
Fix parking and traffic issues
Focus on the aesthetics: Clean up and fix up
Offer more family-friendly dining and activities
Create a more appealing retail mix (conduct more research)

32. Five University Towns Ithaca, New York (Cornell)
6/26/2019
Five University Towns
Ithaca, New York (Cornell)
Ames, Iowa (Iowa State University)
Stillwater, Oklahoma (Oklahoma State University)
Manhattan, Kansas (Kansas State University)
Logan, Utah (Utah State University)

33. College Town Showcase: Ithaca, NY Cornell University
Population: 30,720
Student Population: 21,970
Median Income: $31,531
Median Residential age: 22.0
Noteworthy Businesses: Target; Bed, Bath, and Beyond; GameStop; Multiple Gift Shops
Click to add text

34. Excited about the Future: Downtown Pullman, Washington
Thank You!!