2016 Business Walk: Winchester Business Corridor

2016 BUSINESS WALK: WINCHESTER BUSINESS CORRIDOR

Business is Thriving in the Winchester Corridor San Jose’s woes are reflected through business concerns—parking, roads, homelessness The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of to hear the feedback of this business Commerce conducted its seventh busi- community. ness walk on the 27th of July.

Four questions were asked by volunA business walk is an opportunity for teers: the SJSV Chamber and partner organi How’s business? zations to get a ground level view of an area’s business climate determine  What do you like about doing business in this location? the challenges and opportunities present to local business.

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As the presenting sponsor Bridge Bank has been an invaluable partner in this endeavor. An additional special thanks to Councilmember Chappie Jones of San Jose District 1 for his sponsorship and for taking the time to personally walk the corridor, along with his staff,

Would you be interested in forming a Winchester Business Associa- Speaking to the community atmosphere of this corridor, businesses felt tion? they had a great and diverse customer  What could be done to improve base. The majority of respondents citbusiness in the area? ed the number one thing they enjoyed There were a total of 80 businesses most about this business corridor was surveyed along this corridor. Of the their location, Santana Row, foot businesses surveyed, 65 percent saw traffic, and freeway access.

BUSINESS CLIMATE

Good

Same

6% 29% 65%

San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber

their business as “good or improving” and another 29 percent felt they were keeping a steady pace or “maintaining”. That leaves only 6 percent of businesses who felt things were “poor or getting worse.” Overall, there was a very positive outlook among the business community along the corridor.

Poor

There is a genuine desire among businesses to engage and participate in the growth of the corridor. A full 55 percent of respondents expressed interest in forming a Business Association.

Another segment of respondents (22 percent) said they were unsure, but the data points to a vested interest in the area and in moving business and

2016 BUSINESS WALK the community forward.

Ensuring the formation of the Winchester Business Associ-

tions are a result of “the City chronically underfunding road maintenance.”

ation would be an ideal way to connect business to their Additionally, businesses felt more parking spaces and district representative and give organizations like the SJSV more accessible parking in this area would be an adChamber an opportunity to offer services and buttress a vantage. This concern was bore out when looking at the thriving corridor.

online presence of available parking in the area.

The largest concerns in the corridor have been consistent All of the major parking websites customers and businessconcerns throughout San Jose. The issues of homeless- es would use to find parking, such as, ‘ParkSj’, ‘Parkme’, ness, security, and crime chief among them. If we lump and ‘bestparking’ show zero available parking garages or this data together, it makes up 40 percent of the business lots. This demonstrates an opportunity to address this concerns for the corridor.

Some businesses reported that the local homelessness

business concern could be posting available parking data to the core websites.

population were loitering and making customers uncom- Rounding out the top concerns for businesses is fortable. Of similar concern was a lack of security felt by ‘marketing,’ at 21 percent overall. Businesses throughout the corridor, who requested more patrols and a faster the corridor noted barriers to marketing opportunities, police response. This data showing a clear need for most notably, difficulty in acquiring permits to advertise. change in this arena.

This was a particular concern felt by business in the Wil-

Another area with room for improvement was infrastruc- liams to Moorpark section, where businesses felt they ture – with 35 percent of businesses citing this as a top were not visible enough. There was also an expressed inconcern. This category included parking and road condi- terest in more events and holiday decorations to bring in tions. Poor road conditions were of particular concern for new customers. the business along Hamilton to Loma Verde and Williams While many of these concerns are felt throughout San to Moorpark. This information is consistent with road con- Jose, the business ecosystem in the Winchester Corridor is dition data provided by the city – which ranks in the up to the task. bottom third of the 109 Bay Area jurisdictions in road quality. According to the city auditor’s office, road condi-

San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber

2016 BUSINESS WALK Sub-category Breakdown by Sector Williams to Moorpark

Hamilton to Loma Verde

Payne to Winchester

San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber

2016 BUSINESS WALK Next Steps: With this data in hand, here are possible next steps to address top concerns: 

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Address marketing barriers – difficulty in obtaining permits Create Winchester Business Association for a unified voice and area business representatives to work with the city on important issues Sponsor

San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber

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Utilize local homeless resources Increase number of local events to bring in new customers Update parking data to alleviate lack of available parking Invest in road and maintenance repair Private patrol – paid for by businesses to supplement police response.

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