WATERLOO -- Keep putting on festivals, clean up the area and stop worrying about parking. Those are some of the messages Waterloo's downtown is receiving from a market analysis done by the Downtown Professionals Network.

Main Street Waterloo released the findings of its Market Study Summary Report to its board members Tuesday. David Deeds, chairman of Main Street Waterloo's economic restructuring committee, said the study showed that development of the downtown area is moving in the right direction.

"I think its a good affirmation that we have some good things going downtown," Deeds said.

One of the goals of the survey was to compare the downtown area to other Cedar Valley retail areas. Survey respondents were asked to categorize various downtown features as stronger or weaker than other retail spots.

Festivals and events, such as My Waterloo Days or Friday'Loo, ranked as the strongest selling point for downtown Waterloo, with 33.8 percent of respondents saying such events were stronger than in other retail areas.

The look of downtown, however, left something to be desired. Nearly 65 percent of those surveyed said the attractiveness of downtown was weaker than other retail areas. Respondents also pointed out a need for selection and variety of downtown businesses, with nearly 70 percent describing the selection of downtown businesses as weaker than other retail areas.

Deeds said one of the most surprising showings from the study was the lack of responses about downtown parking. One of the questions asked of survey participants was the first thing they would change about the downtown. Deeds said of the survey's 422 respondents, only three made a comment about the parking situation.

"It shows me that it's not on people's mind as a parking problem," Deeds said.

The survey also showed the downtown has some work to do in attracting consumers from areas outside the primary trade area, which is Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Evansdale. The survey compared the estimates of potential sales against the estimates of actual sales to determine if the downtown was experiencing surplus or leakage of sales.

For the primary trade area, the downtown had a surplus of more than $400 million per year in total retail trade and food and drink receipts. For the secondary trade area, however, the downtown showed a leakage of more than $80 million.

Food and drink seemed to be an area in need of improvement. The survey showed a surplus of $3.3 million for the primary trade area and a leakage of $30 million for the secondary trade area.

Indeed, when respondents were asked what type of new business they would visit in downtown Waterloo, accommodation and food service businesses, specifically full service restaurants, were the most common response.

Contact RC Balaban at (319) 291-1418 or rc.balaban@wcfcourier.com.