The students on the Park University campus want a grocery store in downtown Parkville.
A survey of students and staff on the campus was conducted by the Platte County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) and ad hoc economic development committee.
The survey had about 200 student responses and 200 staff responses.
The students said the main thing missing in downtown Parkville was a grocery store, followed by a bookstore. Staff members on the campus think a bookstore is missing in Parkville, followed by a coffee shop.
Some survey takers provided written suggestions of possible businesses needed in downtown Parkville. The business ideas include a movie theater, a Chinese market, a bar, and a sushi restaurant.
The main way most of the respondents receive information about events in Parkville is from posters on the campus. The students then receive more information from the school newspaper. The least popular way students receive information about events in Parkville was through text messaging.
Another question was whether students and staff feel safe in downtown Parkville. One hundred percent of students and staff responded they feel safe during the day and 88 percent of students said they felt safe at night.
Some of the weaknesses students and staff cited in Parkville are parking issues, hours of operation for businesses, traffic, and lack of a general store in downtown Parkville.
The majority of students and staff said they currently get to downtown Parkville by driving, but both groups had respondents say they would prefer another way to get to the area. Most respondents said they prefered to walk to downtown Parkville.
Shani Porter, community and business outreach coordinator with the PCEDC, said it would be interesting to do the survey again once the new Highway 9 Bridge is completed with larger sidewalks.
Gerry Richardson, mayor, noted that the city pays $1,000 per year to the PCEDC.
“There is a possibility of increasing our membership level in the EDC,” said Richardson. “Perhaps we can look toward increasing that amount.”