The emphasis is theirs, and would be laughable in nearly any other American metropolis. Downtown Eugene is dead. The charge is not without basis.
Retailers continue to trickle out of downtown for warmer climes.
The pedestrian mall is now a gritty stretch of apathy and atrophy. Parking will always be a problem. Many do not feel safe downtown. There is a new trend, however, that our friends at the suburban shopping mall are carefully watching. They are not declaring victory over downtown Eugene, but rather they are actively campaigning against a resurgence of interest in the American urban center.