Operation Downtown

If you stop and look closely as you’re walking downtown, you may notice several subtle differences about our city. Outside, there’s an abundance of large flowerpots and street banners along roadways. Sidewalks are clean and tidy. People are surprisingly friendly and it feels like a safe place to be.

Midwestern values are partially responsible for these pleasant attributes, but there is another reason as well — a program called “Operation Downtown.” Ambassadors of Operation Downtown are working to keep the community clean, safe, friendly and beautiful.

Depending on your perspective, Operation Downtown means different things. To a visiting businessperson, Operation Downtown offers directions from point A to point B. To an employee working late, Operation Downtown means an escort to his or her car after dark. To a building manager, Operation Downtown is a cleaning crew sweeping rubbish away. And to a would-be criminal, Operation Downtown is the eyes and ears of the police, providing a deterrent to crime. So if you think Des Moines seems cleaner, safer and more welcoming than other major cities, you’re not imagining things. It usually is, and much of the credit goes to Operation Downtown.

Have questions or need help, contact Scot Blanchard at 515.202.9615 or sblanchard@downtowndesmoines.com.