If you've walked the streets of other large urban cities like New York, San Francisco or Chicago, sidewalk vending surely adds to your visitor experience. Whether it's a pretzel, a hot dog or a variety of other items, kiosk vending is a functional, valuable and an entertaining part of city life, or a visit.

 

Atlanta has an opportunity to take its vending program to a level like many successful cities, while aiding small entrepreneurs and generating a new source of revenue for the City. Revamping vending has been discussed for many years. That's as far as it ever got, until now. The City is now poised to reengineer sidewalk vending where it can become a functional part of our street experience, rather than a mishmash of knock-off purses and cheap sunglasses dumped out of a truck every morning, block after block.

 

Today city vending is treated in many cities just as it should be - specialty retailing. And making it work better for vendors and their customers means managing the product mix and the presentation in a way that's pleasing, attractive and appealing to potential customers.

 

While some would like to see vending disappear altogether, we believe there's a place for a well-managed program that offers a product mix that's tailored and unique to employees, students, visitors, conventioneers and anyone else that saunters our sidewalks.

 

City Council is considering legislation that would allow the private management of the City's public space vending program. The City, through its normal RFP process, has selected General Growth Properties, a highly qualified national company, to manage the program. The Atlanta Development Authority is poised to assist with training and small loan programs to existing and possible new vendors in a new vending program.

 

A vending program such as this provides greater economic opportunities for vendors and the City. And our belief is based on the experiences of other cities that vending can work, and work well for all involved.

 

So after years and years of discussions, it appears an upgraded program isn't too far from becoming a viable enhancement for everyone involved.It's time to aspire to a new level for Atlanta's pedestrian experience. The vending program being considered by City Council is a long-awaited step in the right direction.

The committee has heard repeatedly from the existing vendors and they need to hear from the community who coexists in the city's public spaces with the vendors.  Below is a list of City Council members with the Public Safety committee members in bold text.  Please  contact them and encourage your colleagues, neighbors and friends to do the same by forwarding this email.  Below is text you may cut and paste to use in your email to the Council Members listed.  Feel free to add your own flourishes if you have them.  Thank you for your time!