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53 Ms. Hamilton said she is troubled by the polarization of comments and businesses versus pedestrians. She said downtown is used by many communities and has many nd needs. She said having 2 Street open and there being no evidence of detriment, it makes sense to have an opening at the other end of the mall. She said she would support a one year trial opening, making sure that we ensure safety and gather information during that time period. She said mall crossings are successful elsewhere. Mr. Schilling thanked speakers for their comments. He said he heard compelling reasons on both sides. He said he too has a young child. He said he concurs with people th who enjoy the mall in general. He said he too was concerned about closing 7 Street. He said he is concerned about the business community. He said he regrets that we do not have any hard evidence, but said a number of businesses have closed in that location. He said the question is what are the opportunities for the mall and what will make it more successful. He said he thinks crossings can be successful. He said a better retail mix would also be helpful, and access would help. He said he is compelled to take a long term view, especially when businesses will be threatened by competition from Albemarle Place. He said he thought the proposal for a trial was a good proposal. He said whatever method is used to analyze it, if it is shown to be harmful it needs to come out. He said he would favor closing the crossing during particularly busy hours, and noted that businesses are amenable to this. He said he sympathizes with those who do not want another crossing, but said that increasing the vitality of downtown and the tax base is the only way to provide tax relief to other areas of the city. Mr. Caravati said he is personally against crossing the mall. He said there is no evidence for opening or closing streets. He said a successful mall of this type is extremely rare in this country, and we need to guarantee its success. He said it is a dynamic process. He said he would support a temporary opening and he said a survey should be designed to establish negatives or positives. He said he thinks Council needs more information before voting, such as a price for a temporary opening. He said we will need to do a survey to see if business is improving and to determine any negative impacts. He said he would support closing the crossing during peak usage hours and having the crossing sunset after one year. He said if a crossing is opened, we need to nd spend money on 2 Street and on this crossing. He said he thinks the crossing should be th on 5Street. He said there is at least one utility pole that needs to go away. th Dr. Brown said he agrees with the consensus. He said he thinks closing 7 Street has hurt businesses. He said he agrees that businesses depend on tourists. He said he supports Mr. Caravati’s trial recommendation. He said data should include pedestrian issues as well as the mall as a whole. He suggested that the issue be brought back within thth a month when Council can discuss a crossing at 4 versus 5, direction, cost and other safety issues, including when the crossing would be closed. He asked staff to proceed with getting information and to bring the matter back. Mr. Lynch said we may need to develop a matrix to tell if the crossing is a nd success. He said 2 Street was opened 10 years ago and asked if we can tell if that was a success economically. He said he does not see a way to come up with a measure of success. Mr. Caravati said data should include whether there are retail receipt increases, safety issues, and whether parking is up or down. Ms. Hamilton said we should also come up with measures of harm that may be done to the community as well. PUBLIC HEARING/RESOLUTION : AUTHORIZING LEASE FOR TOWE PARK TENANT HOUSE Mr. Brown said Council is being asked to update the lease on the house at Towe Park which is jointly owned by the City and County. He said 25 hours of work per month is required to be done by the lessee. He said the lease is for one year with an option for up to four years. He said the lease has been approved by Albemarle County.