We got a first look at the new website at the April Foster Area Business Association meeting. Our member Marina Martinez from Marina Martinez Consulting (as well as our staff person) came to the board in Spring of 2015 with a proposal for a new, fully functional website. We applied for a Venture Portland grant in their Fall 2015 grant cycle, and at April’s meeting we got the first look at the developing site.
Fellow member Ben Bateman brought up the staging site on his laptop and showed us what they had so far. We didn’t take any pictures, because it’s a surprise, but the design was a big hit. Heather, executive director of Venture Portland offered some advice on our new member directory. “Don’t get category crazy. Stick to broad buckets so that the reader won’t be overwhelmed when they’re just looking for a place to eat.”
After the website presentation, Amanda Doimas from Backstory Books Announced Second Saturday, an art walk that started on her block last month that will hopefully expand to all of Foster with snacks, art and businesses staying open late for summer sales. Justin from Starday Tavern said the pub owners are all excited about Second Saturday being a customer driver. “We just need to get people on the block. Once we get them on the block and they see what’s happening here, they’re going to come back. There’s an energy here that we didn’t have even a year ago.”
There was also a clarification on Streetscape. Some customers had questions about the increase in travel time. PBOT is calculating a 3 minute increase in commuting time, and only during the morning rush hour. For more info on Streetscape, you can click here to go to the PBOT page on the project.