Gainesville’s “Downtown Get-around” rolls today

An 8-person club car begins serving the area around the square in downtown Gainesville. City officials say Gainesville’s “Downtown Get-around” will run from 10 in the morning through 9 at night on Mondays through Saturdays.

From the City of Gainesville website...

The City of Gainesville is putting rubber to the road in its latest effort to encourage visitors to downtown amid construction.

Known as the “Downtown Get-Around”, the eight-person club car will service the area of the historic Gainesville square starting Wednesday, June 9. The service will be available from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, rain or shine, making it more convenient for visitors to access downtown restaurants and retailers, plus City events.

“To continue to support our downtown patrons and businesses, we wanted to offer new and convenient ways to visit downtown,” said Gainesville Assistant City Manager Angela Sheppard. “While we have many exciting things happening right now, we acknowledge navigating it all can be a challenge. The ‘Downtown Get-Around’ will enhance the experience for visitors by providing a direct connection between parking and the many downtown amenities. We are excited about this solution and look forward to having the ‘Downtown Get-Around’ as another desirable feature of downtown.”

Downtown Get-Around drivers will continuously loop the square and downtown area in search of passengers, who may hail the Get-Around or wait to be picked up at the Main Street Parking Deck, Hall County Parking Facility or marked 5-minute loading areas, for example.

The service, exclusive to downtown, is the City’s latest effort to help restaurants and retailers on the square maintain their customer base while economic development projects unfold nearby. Currently under construction are Gainesville Renaissance, a mixed-use development featuring planned retail and office spaces, plus lofts, on the fourth side of the square; the Gainesville North Parking Deck, located at 100 Brenau Ave.; the Gainesville Downtown Streetscape Improvements Project, currently on Bradford Street; and The National, a new hotel planned on the site of the former First National Bank building.

“We want to do everything we can to make it easier for people to get around through the growing pains of construction. The ‘Downtown Get-Around’ will be a fun addition to the downtown scene,” said Main Street Gainesville Manager Nicole Ricketts. “Our hope is to catch people on their way to and from shopping at their favorite boutiques, dining and utilizing their favorite downtown services like salons and florists. The Downtown Get-Around can help carry those larger purchases back to your car as well!”

Downtown Get-Around will be free for all riders, whether residents of Gainesville or visitors.

A friendly reminder the Main Street Parking Deck is located at 301 Main St. across from the Carroll Daniel Construction building and the Hall County Parking Facility, 225 Green St. SE next to the Gainesville Administration Building. Should the Get-Around be unavailable at the time of your visit, both decks are within walking distance to the square.

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