In a couple of months, the City Deck will be full Green Bay residents enjoying our gorgeous spring and summer months, as the downtown area wakes up from its winter hibernation.

This is a great time for Green Bay leaders to embrace a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area or DORA concept to give the sluggish downtown (aside from Hagermeister Park) all the help it can get (story HERE).

The DORA would allow alcohol along more parts of the riverside downtown areas and would allow more vendors to move in to sell refreshments. The concept is hardly new, OshKosh and Neenah each have a DORA, and so do many other cities around the country.

The proposal is simple enough, and will even bring in a little revenue. It protects private property, and the borders don’t encroach on the business buildings to the south.

And let’s be real. Downtown could use the boost.

I live and work near the area, and even during the summer months, there are some activity gaps. Yeah, there is the Saturday farmer’s market, and the art festival, but it needs more. Then you have the completion of the Nova building, which may be out of price for you and me, but will still need to give their residents something to do.

The city must also continue to find more tools to lure away visitor revenue from the stadium district when the Packers aren’t playing. There are still a lot of residents that will choose to spend their money in Ashwaubenon even though the City Deck is the better environment during the off season.

I’m happy to see the DORA proposal and hopes it moves forward. If you want a more vibrant downtown, you should too.