Empty shop windows: how can Dresden's main street become more attractive?

By Kay Haufe

Dresden. Three days of summer showgrounds last week did the high street a world of good. Not only did some of the trees show themselves in a completely new light and give the boulevard a new look. Suddenly there was a lot of life between art and theater performances in the middle of the wide meadow strips.

As beautiful as the main street is as a promenade with its tastefully planted flower beds, bubbling fountains and the sandstone sculptures that returned this spring "Architecture" and "Das Lied", it is so clear from the empty shop windows that it has problems. Some retailers and restaurateurs are giving up because they are not generating enough turnover.

René Arndt is someone who has been a trader on Hauptstraße for many years. The Managing Director of Technik Ambiente Dresden is keeping a close eye on the development of the boulevard and is trying to shape it positively with the Hauptstraße trade and cultural association. He sees the vacancies - around ten stores are closed - as critical, but not dramatic. "After all, the empty shop windows also signal that there are opportunities for new investors here."

Shopping behavior has changed since Corona. He himself has moved his store from a very central location on the main street to the junction with Metzer Straße at Neustädter Markt 1, away from the pedestrian flow. "I needed more space and our customers can still find us because they come to us specifically and usually via prior internet research." From his point of view, simply waiting for customers to stroll past is no longer in keeping with the times.

Attract new customers through events

However, the association chairman also knows exactly how important it is to attract new customers to the high street through events. "The Schaubudensommer was a good example of this." Next week, the Wine Summer 2024 from July 11 to 14 will once again appeal to a different audience. The traditional children's festival will take place on August 10 from 2 pm to 6 pm. One hour longer than before. "It takes a lot of preparation and costs money. That's why even this hour is a big effort for us," explains René Arndt.

To make the high street a little more attractive in the darker months of the year, the association has purchased chandeliers to create a pleasant atmosphere in front of members' stores. They are hung up at the time change in October and taken down again at the end of March.

The vacancy on the high street has not gone unnoticed by the city council either. "There is no evidence of a serious decline in stores. Nevertheless, there has been an increase in vacant stores in the city center over the past two to three years," Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) recently replied to a question from an AfD city councillor. Vacancies have currently increased, especially on Hauptstraße and Wallstraße.

To identify the causes and find solutions, the city commissioned a new shopping and center concept in 2022. It attested to the stagnation of trade on the high streetIt has too many tourist attractions, but the tourists often don't even make it from the old town to the new town.

However, René Arndt says that this situation changed a lot with the completion of the Augustus Bridge. "Of course, it was a disaster that the bridge's construction time was delayed from two to five years. But it is now full of walkers and the Avantgarde Archive in the Blockhaus has created a new attraction that draws visitors to the Neustadt side."

Speeding cyclists are not good for the boulevard

The range of stores is also changing. There are now services such as a hairdresser and a nail salon, and a real estate agency is due to open soon. "Some things from the second row will now move directly into the walk-in location," René Arndt is convinced, because retail means constant change.

He considers the many cyclists who ride on all three sections of the main road, some at high speed, to be a major drawback. "I thought that with the expansion of the cycle path on Albertstrasse, cycling on the main road would be banned. But while there are only a few cyclists on Albertstrasse, they are increasing on the main road."

This is not conducive to a shopping street. "You have to keep children by the hand here. That's a shame. I bought a speedometer especially for this: The fastest cyclist was traveling at 35 kilometers per hour." Talks with the head of the borough council about speeding cyclists had not led to a solution either.

For Guram Dobrindt, cyclists are not a problem for the main road. "It's wide enough for many users," says the restaurateur who reawakened the "Löwe" restaurant on the main street from a three-year slumber at the end of 2022. However, he had actually "imagined the first year to be a little easier". In his view, this is also due to the fact that this street and its customers are "aging". And the retailers were satisfied with this customer structure and would do nothing to change it.