All across America pedestrian malls have been disappering due largely in part to their failure to sustain regular business. Rockford is still holding on to it's Main Street mall, but that may soon change. The city of Rockford has an unfortunate tradition of being behind the curve. There was a time when having a pedestrian mall downtown was all the rage. However, by the time rockford transformed Main Street into a walkway, most cities were turning theirs back into streets. This was the topic of discussion at the Memorial Hall auditorium Wednesday night. Business owners, downtown employees, and even some people who just like to go downtown gathered together to discuss the future of Main street. Design Committee chair Gary Anderson said of the meeting, "Having this kind of input really helps build a consensus and also that if we're gonna make a change that we would certainly like to keep some of the assets of the old mall. How can we incorporate that into a new Main Street?" Not everyone wants to see the mall go, but everyone who spoke was for a change of some sort on Main Street. The biggest concern for those opposed to a street is the loss of business during the construction period. Katrina Finnan of Kryptonite adds, "That really puts a damper on business. You can lose thousands of dollars just due to construction outside your building." Downtown businesses are hurting and many believe that if it were easier to get around downtown, more people would come. Downtown resident Gary Carlson had this to say, "I like to joke with friends that if the heart of any city is its downtown our city has some arterial flow problems and we need bypass surgery."