Local government must step up, save existence of Railroad Square

Diane Roberts

Local government must step up, save existence of Railroad Square

City and county commissioners must step up and help save the cultural treasure that is Railroad Square. Commissioners haven’t hesitated to give tax incentives to utter disasters such as the Washington Square project or spend taxpayer money on dubious “improvements” to Doak Campbell Stadium.

TLH Beer Society held a bottle share fundraiser at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee on May 18, 2024, to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes.
TLH Beer Society held a bottle share fundraiser at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee on May 18, 2024, to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes.

In an area largely given over to dull beige hotels and dull beige student housing, RRS gave us galleries, theater, cinema, cool food and cool shops, all locally owned and run, all important contributors to Tallahassee’s economy. If the site is sold, it will be replaced by ugly, generic, characterless development—and surely, we have plenty of that already.

With buy-in from local government, RRS can be reborn. Don’t do it for the sake of the landowners, but for the small businesses and artists and Tallahasseeans who love it so much.

Diane Roberts, Tallahassee, FL., drob161887@aol.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Local government must step up, save existence of Railroad Square

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