While foot traffic in the Downtown area hasn't returned to pre-2020 levels, it has rebounded significantly from the lowest numbers of the pandemic, and longtime observers are hopeful the area will see stable activity despite changes.

"Downtown is becoming healthier as far as foot traffic goes. We're seeing more stores around, that's a good thing," said George Coorsen, co-founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. "People are starting to come back but it's going to take a while and be different."

"There certainly remains a reduction in the number of people spending time Downtown compared to before the pandemic, and a reduction in the average number of days spent by office workers. But both numbers have been rising steadily since March 2020 and we have plenty of reason for optimism as the new normal emerges," said Downtown Business Improvement District President Michael Nichols.

"Our goal for foot traffic is simple. We look to create demand in our downtown. The BID looks to create a clean, safe and hospitable environment for office workers and tourists, and looks to create destination worthy programs and art experiences for locals and visitors. There’s no magic number on how much foot traffic is “enough” as we always look to grow the number of people interested in visiting downtown Boston," Nichols added.

The Boston Planning and Development Agency has been tracking economic indicators in the Downtown area, using 2019 as a baseline to compare current activity against. Overall, the percentage of people stopping in the area was down 19.6 percent in April 2024 compared to April 2019. At the worst of the pandemic in June 2020, people stopping in Downtown was down 72 percent. The highest numbers since then have been during the holiday season of December 2023, when the number was still down 8 percent compared to December 2019.

"A lot of the traffic is tourist traffic, as opposed to people who live around the area," Coorsen said. "People used to come down there all the time, for Stoddards, for all kinds of stores. Not so much now because of Amazon."

The city's most recent Downtown spending numbers seem to indicate less residential spending. Compared to March 2019, overall spending in March 2024 was down 5 percent and spending at eateries was down 7 percent, while spending at grocery stores was down 21 percent.

In March 2023, however, spending on groceries was down 15 percent, spending at eateries was down 9 percent and overall spending was down 14 percent, compared to March 2019. While the March 2024 numbers show a decrease in grocery spending, the spending at restaurants and overall has improved over 2023 and is closer to 2019 levels.

City officials said the SPACE (Supporting Pandemic Affected Community Enterprises) Grant Program has provided funds to small businesses hit hard by the pandemic, including food service and production, restaurants, retail, art, entertainment and recreation. Coorsen said while the make-up of Downtown businesses is changing, events like the Downtown Business Improvement District's pop-up series are a way to bring in new merchants.

The most important change has been increased policing in the area, Coorsen said.

"The traffic has to do with the environment. The police are doing an excellent job making it much safer all around, that's making the biggest difference. There were a lot of troubles on the steps of St. Paul's Church, there's no more people doing drugs around there, they really cleaned that up," Coorsen said. "[Downtown] is still in a mode of change, it's far from coming back but it will come back as long as it's safe."

"Boston’s downtown is probably the safest among major cities in America. And while occasionally incidents receive a fair amount of attention, statistically and practically, crime is at historically low levels in our downtown," Nichols said.

But Coorsen did identify another problem for foot traffic and safety in the area.

"There's scooters going around at 50 mph, they're hitting people, it's a disaster," Coorsen said. "Those things are everywhere, they're a curse for the whole area and dangerous."

"The Downtown BID staff and our partners have observed a rapid increase in scooter and e-bike usage on downtown streets. We have concerns, principally around pedestrian safety, but we also believe making vehicles smaller in the long-term will have positive benefits for the environmental and quality of life downtown," Nichols said. "We are aligning our work in various ways, including looking to formalize a scooter parking area for food delivery drivers, increased signage around events, and working with the City on improving the pedestrian zone.