Make it easier (less confusing to park) and keep prices for parking low. We still don't have electronic signage or pay by phone.

Last time I had reason to shop at Stanford SC, I made several impulse purchases. I had to return an item so returned a few days later and made more impulse purchases. The impulse purchases were all much smaller than the intentional purchase, but still added to the economy.

Last time I went to eat on a pleasant evening, we strolled around other stores.

The idea is that shopping is often a pastime rather than a necessity. Make it pleasant. Make it easy. We have lost many activities but shopping can be much more entertaining (and pleasant) than sitting in a theater or sports venue.

> shopping is often a pastime rather than a necessity...shopping can be much more entertaining (and pleasant) than sitting in a theater or sports venue.

I suspect that browsing and what we used to call 'window shopping' back in the day is more of a woman's pastime, especially when it comes to shoes, clothing, and fashion accessory items.

Men tend to browse (if at all), at pastime oriented stores that cater to their hobbies and outside interests.

Online shopping has its drawbacks from the standpoint that a customer must rely on product descriptions and cannot try on clothing first for proper sizing.

I hate going shopping with my wife because she dilly-dallies too much at various women's stores that I have minimal interest in.

As a result and with the possible exception of groceries, we shop separately most of the time.

Our neighbor has a gay male friend that she goes shopping with and they seem to enjoy each other's company and fashion-related conversation.

I would rather kick back with a beer and watch the ballgame.

It may be true that women prefer browsing around clothing and kitchen stores. Men tend to browse around hardware and high tech. Whenever a new Iphone or video game comes out, the lines always seem to be male only. The Tesla store always seems to have more men also.

But we don't want to be called out for being sexist do we?

We need more retail stores that carry merchandise exclusively manufactured in the United States or from modern Western European countries.

American consumers have become too accustomed to buying cheaply-made goods from China along with overpriced designer label clothing and accessories manufactured in 3rd world countries.

I hate shopping online. I like to see and handle what I am buying before I purchase it. With clothing, I check the weave of fabric, construction of the garment, quality of workmanship. I want things that last. I can't check any of this online where there is a lot cheaply manufactured JUNK for sale.

Though I am a lowly woman (really, the previous posts were quite insulting), I love my local hardware store and appreciate the convenience of being able to dash over there and back home in less than an hour on my bike to get parts for to get parts for emergency repairs. Time matters when your irrigation system or plumbing system springs a leak. I also like to browse at the hardware store...Imagine that, a woman interested in building and fixing things.

I am picky about my foods. I love to cook, so here again, I like to select my fresh ingredients. I don't want some minimum wage Amazon slave who knows nothing about produce selecting my tomatoes for me.

The internet is useful for some things, but I like to limit my time there. I like getting out in the world and interacting with people and things. I like to ESCAPE THE SCREEN as often as possible. The real world is a much better place to be.

I agree with Consider Your Options. Completely. I also think Palo Alto needs to focus on crime prevention. I think it likely that the sort of crimes that are happening near retail areas deter people from going to those areas as often as they otherwise might.

> Palo Alto needs to focus on crime prevention. I think it likely that the sort of crimes that are happening near retail areas deter people from going to those areas as often as they otherwise might.

A lot of this has to do with Palo Alto being an upscale community with high-end stores that attract criminals from outside the area.

Mountain View does not have fancy stores and the neighborhoods are more nondescript in nature.

As a result, there are fewer residential burglaries and retail store thefts.

Surprisingly, Los Altos offers both quality shopping (albeit it limited) in addition to having nice residential neighborhoods.

Perhaps Palo Alto could take some lessons from its neighboring city.

> shopping is often a pastime rather than a necessity.

In many ways it is.

I enjoy browsing for clothing and cookware but leave the more serious household purchases (like cars, computers, iPhones and home entertainment components) up to my husband who is far more adept at making these key decisions.

I feel sorry for women who are single and have to do menial tasks like cleaning their own rain gutters and having to balance the checkbook.

Being pampered and marrying the best provider one can stomach is the key to happinesses and a successful long-term married life.

And all it takes is being reasonably attractive and superficially cordial.

Though there have been prior discussions regarding Town & Country Village accommodating more private businesses and medical facilities, I would like to see it revert back to a collection of upper tier specialty stores.

Because of its elongated compactness, Town & Country Village would also be easier for security guards to monitor and for the PAPD to apprehend suspects as Embarcadero Road and/or ECR are the only way out of Palo Alto.

And bring back, expand, or possibly re-introduce many of the older stores that were once symbolic of Town &Country Village..like Patrick James, S. Christian Copenhagen, Prestige, Spiro's Sports, Edy's, Nippon Goldfish Company, Village Cheese Shop, Williams Cutlery, Peninsula Box Office, Stickney's, and a host of others.

In other words, let's make the contemporary dullness of Palo Alto a bit more palatable by making it a tad more interesting.

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Except for a multitude of dining options, downtown Palo Alto (including California Avenue), and the downtown sections of Los Altos, and Mountain View lack a certain vibrancy.

Add some live entertainment venues, more full-scale bars, and retail marijuana stores to stimulate the local economy.

California Avenue is no longer quaint and redeveloping it along the lines of San Antonio Road with both ground level stores and multi-story residencies would help to alleviate the housing shortage.

Include some Section 8 rental eligibility options as well for people on fixed incomes (e.g. social security, disability, welfare etc.) and eliminate all parking on California Avenue to accommodate walk-through traffic and bicyclists.

Making progress and gearing-up for the future is the key objective and the future is now.

Sunnyvale left a small section of its downtown area (Murphy Street) for quaintness while the rest of the city is getting further developed.

Downtown Palo Alto could easily do the same. Just leave a few of those now antiquated and mundane retro-Spanish architectural designs intact and bulldoze the rest of them. No big deal.

Palo Alto is getting left behind by clinging to remnants of an insignificant past.

• "Just leave a few of those now antiquated and mundane retro-Spanish architectural designs intact and bulldoze the rest of them. No big deal."

The post office on Hamilton and small stores on Ramona add a certain character to downtown Palo Alto but the multi-story Hamilton building, President Hotel, and old PAMF building most certainly does not and should be razed for newer architectural designs.

California Avenue is OK but could also use a renovation.

Architecturally, much of downtown Palo Alto is marred by a non-vintage, mundane appearance and this could be easily remedied by a coordinated tear-down of the older buildings followed by a visionary rebuild that reflects tomorrow.

The question is whether Palo Alto residents can fully support the revenue generating stream of their local businesses by themselves or whether an established and continual customer base from outside of Palo Alto is needed to fulfill this criteria.

If Palo Alto residents wish to maintain a small town vibe, then keep things the way they are including all of its antiquated 1920 architectural styles.

100 years have passed and times change.
If attracting a stronger customer base from outside of Palo Alto is required to keep things afloat fiscally, then spend some more money on redeveloping the entire University and California Avenue shopping districts.

The section of Barron Park along El Camino Real is also hideous with its endless flow of mundane strip malls, automotive repair shops, and nondescript motels.

South Palo does not reflect the venerable essence of North Palo Alto and is more reminiscent of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.

Stanford Shopping Center attracts a lot of out-of-town customers but downtown PA and California Avenue can only seem to accomplish this feat via those tacky summer street fairs featuring questionable artisan goods with mediocre cover bands providing the entertainment.

A commemorative wine glass is about all there is to show for this cultural Palo Alto experience.

Palo Alto could take a lesson or two from Los Altos.

Our crime rate is low, no RV or homeless issues, and there are plenty of places to either dine or shop.

We have a chicken and egg situation.

We are losing stores because of online shopping. We have to shop online because local stores are closing.

• We are losing stores because of online shopping.

This is true (to a certain extent) but the exorbitant commercial rental costs in Palo Alto also discourage merchants from expanding their businesses or even staying in business altogether.

Greedy landlords are to blame.

With the population of both Palo Alto and Mountain View becoming predominantly Asian, retail stores should seriously consider catering to these newer markets.

Downtown Mountain View is accomplishing this to some extent and there is a large 99 Ranch supermarket on Grant Road.

Palo Alto could easily do the same but I suspect that many of the older white residents would not welcome such a changeover.

Other local Bay Area cities have ethnic shopping districts (e.g. Little Kabul/Saigon/Italy etc. and Korea, Japan, and China towns).

Why is Palo Alto so reluctant to embrace and promote the newer demographics?