The Main Streets of New Hampshire go to great lengths to preserve their historic looks. And if they do it right, that ambiance attracts shops and customers. But in Nashua, they think they might get even better results if they supplement that old time feeling with a touch of modern technology.
NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich-Kern has this report.
Outdoor ambi
Like many town centers in New Hampshire, Nashua’s Main Street epitomizes what marketers like to call "old-world charm. "
Victorian buildings, brick pathways, and classic church steeples.
Hardly a scene of the digital age.
But that’s about to change.
Soon visitors to downtown will be able to surf the web while they’re waiting in line at the cleaners or sitting on a park bench.
The free, wireless Internet service, or Wi-fi won’t cost taxpayers a dime, because the city won’t own it.
Chamber of Commerce President Chris Williams:
WilliamsFunding: This will be funded by the private sector. We do not want to have public, city funding involved in it. We recognize that other communities have tried to institute public funding for large, wifi initiatives, and they have run in to legal problems.
The Chamber is coordinating the project with help from the city and the Great American Downtown association.
WilliamsActualCost: The initial launch will cost somewhere in the ballpark from 30 to 60 thousand.
Those dollars will come from local businesses that advertise on the first page.
So far, HampshireFirst Bank in Nashua is funding a substantial portion.
WilliamsRecruiting: I envision young start-up entrepreneurs who don’t have an office to work out of, meeting potential clients for lunch or coffee, being able to access their services via the Internet.
Dloescher: Part of the interesting trend that we’re seeing in our smaller communities and downtowns is the use of technologies that really help support the revitalization and level the playing fields, vis-à -vis their competition, whether it’s large big-box retailers or Internet commerce.
That’s Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center in Washington, D.C.
Loescher says that wifi is a great marketing tool.
But he adds that cities don’t' want to fund it themselves.
They worry about investing in something that may quickly become obsolete.
John Barker, Nashua’s IT director, says the city is reviewing the latest technologies.
He says the plan is to set up a network that will extend for blocks – up to a mile and a half around Main Street, and will spill over to side streets.
Barker: This is the most ambitious wifi project any municipality has undertaken in NH to this point.
Neil Parmenter is a business professor at Daniel Webster College in Nashua.
Parmenter says that in the future, free wifi will have lots of applications.
ParmenterKiosk: Maybe there will be some sort of kiosk at various points. A person could walk up to a touch screen, and select any of the businesses that are in the downtown area, as well as see current prices, any sales that are going on, any special events that are taking place.
Currently many Main Street restaurants and cafes already offer Internet service.
So is this wifi project a big deal?
Outdoor ambi
WheltonName: Beth Whelton. I’m from Wilton.
Whelton, is an artist who needs to send clients images of her work.
She sits down for lunch at an outdoor café.
WheltonWork: I work in downtown Nashua often on jobs. So it would be great if I could sit outside here and – shwoosh -- send off whatever.
Chamber of Commerce president Chris Williams says he envisions many young professionals coming downtown not only to visit, but also to live.
The city is planning to build more than 800 housing units in and around Main Street.
Residents there would likely have access to the free wi-fi.
In two weeks, the Chamber expects to award a service contract to one of two remaining bidders.
Williams wants to have the network up and running by the summer.
For NHPR News in Nashua, this is Sheryl Rich-Kern.
