Release Date: August 3,2022
Downtown Akron Partnership Ambassador Services Available Seven Days a Week
Akron, Ohio — Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) ambassadors work seven days a week to provide clean, safe, and welcoming services within the downtown Akron Special Improvement District.
Cleaning services include maintaining downtown sidewalks, removing litter and graffiti, completing special projects, and maintaining downtown planters and hanging baskets. Safety services include providing escorts to and from businesses and parking locations, reporting on potential and actual emergencies, addressing safety concerns with street level businesses, and connecting people in need with supportive services.
Aside from these important tasks, all ambassadors provide information and directions to visitors, perform walking and biking patrols throughout the 42-block service area, jump car batteries, and unlock car doors for stranded motorists.
Operations Manager of DAP Ambassadors Kyle Robison says, “The Ambassador team is committed to providing vital security, beautification, and hospitality amongst our community. It’s our mission to ensure Downtown Akron is a safe, vibrant, and friendly location for its residents, visitors and businesses alike.”
13 Years of Service, Presence & Improving Perceptions
The ambassador program began in 2009 to further DAP’s mission of promoting and building a vibrant and valuable downtown. Now, thanks to support from Akron Civic Commons, ambassador hours of operation run seven days a week:
Monday – Saturday: 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sunday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
DAP uses data from an annual general survey to track, among other information, public perceptions of downtown, awareness of the ambassador program, and feelings of safety and satisfaction downtown. In the 2019 general survey, 63% of respondents were either familiar or somewhat familiar with the ambassador program. By 2021, that number rose to 68%.
As awareness of the ambassador program has grown, so have people’s feelings of safety and satisfaction with downtown’s overall appearance. In 2019, 85% of respondents reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with downtown safety, and 59% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with downtown’s physical appearance. By 2021, those numbers rose to 90% and 91%, respectively.
In 2021 alone, ambassadors cleaned downtown bus stops 2,179 times, removed 835 graffiti tags, helped 99 people with vehicular trouble, collected 31,710 pounds of trash, provided 195 safety escorts, and lent other assistance to people 22,104 times.
Learn more about downtown ambassadors at https://www.downtownakron.com/about/clean-and-safe-ambassadors. Call 330-706-7383 for ambassador assistance.
Find out more about Downtown Akron Partnership. Follow us at www.downtownakron.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Downtown Akron Partnership
The mission of Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) is to promote and build a vibrant and valuable downtown. DAP is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing people, activity, business and a thriving civic life to the heart of Akron. Through strategic marketing, clean and safe programs and management of downtown's resources, DAP works to promote downtown as a gathering place in the center of our community.
DAP's members include property owners, business leaders and government officials who want to improve the image of downtown as a safe, convenient location for businesses, working professionals and families. DAP is governed by a board of trustees as diverse as the interests of our city. DAP receives general operating support by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Akron Community Foundation, and GAR Foundation.
###