City residents express concern over the downtown development: could it rejuvenate the area?
Bad Wurzach is set to undergo significant changes in its city center, following a consultation by the Industry and Chamber of Commerce (IHK) Ulm and a survey of passersby. The initiative, funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg, aims to make the city center more attractive, functional, and competitive as a retail destination.
Mayor Alexandra Scherer sees the IHK consultation as an opportunity to restart work on city marketing, while Christiane Vinçon-Westermayer from the HGV board emphasizes the importance of staying vigilant to avoid operational blindness. Vinçon-Westermayer hopes the consultation will uncover weaknesses to be specifically addressed, while also highlighting existing strengths.
The specific measures planned for the improvement of Bad Wurzach's city center retail include enhancing the retail mix, improving accessibility and infrastructure, upgrading public spaces, organizing events and promotions, digitalization measures, and installing clear and attractive signage and information systems.
Josef Röll, who conducted the survey, noted that locals often view their own city more critically than outsiders. He reported that Bad Wurzach's city center has a good mix of businesses, but shops occupy large areas, and the respondents rated the attractiveness of the city center with an average grade of 2.94 - only "satisfactory".
The city and the HGV are collaborating on the IHK consultation, and it is not expected to incur any direct costs for either party. A working group will create an analysis of strengths and weaknesses in Bad Wurzach's city center, from which measures will be developed.
The survey focused primarily on retail in Bad Wurzach's city center, and Röll praised the Rewe market near the city center for addressing the issue of local supply. The goal is to enable a more positive further development of Bad Wurzach's city center, reflecting the feedback from stakeholders and visitors gathered during the consultation and surveys.
The city marketing process from 2013 to 2021, in cooperation with the CIMA agency, demonstrated the risk of operational blindness, making this current initiative all the more crucial. The analysis could include additional projects, such as a shop window consultation and separate consultation on vacancies.
The IHK advises municipalities on the design and further development of their city centers, and the city and HGV are looking forward to the insights and recommendations that will come from this consultation. The IHK consultation is seen as an opportunity to restart work on city marketing by Mayor Scherer, with the hope that it will lead to a more vibrant and thriving city center for Bad Wurzach.
To apply the IHK's insights and recommendations for revitalizing Bad Wurzach's city center, the city and HGV plan to focus on specific areas such as improving the retail mix, enhancing accessibility, upgrading public spaces, implementing digitalization measures, organizing events, installing clear signage, and potentially consulting on shop windows and vacancies. This initiative, which aims to make the city center more competitive and attractive, is also seen as an opportunity to revive city marketing by Mayor Scherer and to ensure that the city remains vigilant to operational blindness in the finance, retail, business, and industry sectors.
