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December 5, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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Washington Street Closure Rejected by Downtown Business Owners

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This video is about seven minutes long.

Downtown business owners overwhelmingly rejected the closure of Washington Street for a pedestrian promenade.

Easton Mayor Robert Willey gave the town council a brief report Monday night about a meeting hosted July 23 by the Easton Economic Development Corporation.

About 70 people attended the meeting — half in person and half through videoconferencing, he said.

“The closure of Washington Street surprised many people because it was thoroughly rejected by most of the people there,” Willey said. “They didn’t want to have that street completely closed.”

Attendees supported the idea of “parklets” — blocking off parking spaces to provide for outdoor dining or other uses — but the closure of Washington Street was thoroughly rejected by most, he said.

Business owners also agreed that any plan that is developed should help all downtown businesses and not just restaurants, according to the mayor.

A formal report from the EEDC is expected before the next town council meeting, he said.

The town council voted Monday night to extend the weekend closures of parking spaces along Washington Street in front of the Washington Street Pub, Doc’s Downtown Grille, and Scossa Restaurant and Lounge, through Monday, Sept. 7, when the board next meets.

Inner Courtyard

As business groups and the town consider options to increase activity downtown, a plan proposed decades ago by then town engineer has gained new life.

In a recent column in the Talbot Spy, Bob Greenlee suggested the time is right to develop the “Inner Courtyard,” the interior of the block surrounded by Washington, Goldsborough, Harrison, and Dover streets.

Bob Greenlee is the managing director and senior advisor in the Chesapeake office of SVN-Miller Commercial Real Estate and president of the Greenlee Group, specializing in asset management, valuation, and economic consulting.

“Bill Corkran was the first to promote this vision in the 1940’s and coined the phrase,” Greenlee wrote.

William H. Corkran Jr. was the town engineer of Easton from 1946 to 1976 and was instrumental in maintaining the town’s historic look.

“Mayor Willey has recently spearheaded a public/private partnership to dust off Mr. Corkran’s old plan, one that will hopefully include a strong retail partner and a commitment to high quality. If so, this is a concept that will define Easton’s Town Center for years to come….,” Greenlee wrote.

“Others have also stepped up recently, importantly including Matt and Peg Fitzgerald who bought the old Shannahan-Wrightson building (the birdcages), which has frontage on both Washington and Harrison Streets, and who are willing to cut through and open up the courtyard to Dover Street. Paul Prager is on board for Goldsborough Street.

 

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton to Continue Weekend Parking Closures for Washington Street Restaurants

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Parking spaces in front of three Washington Street restaurants will be closed the next two weekends as Easton awaits other proposals to help downtown businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The town council voted unanimously Monday night to continue the “experiment” of closing off 10 parallel parking spaces along Washington Street. With the spaces closed this past weekend, the Washington Street Pub, Doc’s Downtown Grille and Scossa Restaurant & Lounge offered additional outside dining and saw increased business.

Easton officials would like to see one change — if handicapped accessibility allows: Use the blocked off parking spaces for pedestrian traffic with the extra outside tables on the sidewalk, not the parking spaces.

As the town continues with the weekend closures, downtown business and property owners will meet Thursday morning to discuss strategies for increasing business during the pandemic.

The closures have already given a bump to the three restaurants, Ross Benincasa, executive director of Discover Easton, said Monday.

Compared to the prior weekend, the Pub reported a 130% increase on Friday, 115% on Saturday, and 75% on Sunday, he said.

The numbers were smaller for Scossa and Doc’s, Benincasa said, noting the Pub normally does not have any outside dining.

Scossa saw a 35% increase in table “turns” on Friday compared to the prior weekend and a 20% increase on Saturday, but had a small decrease on Sunday, he said. However, the restaurant did not use the additional outside dining space on Sunday.

Doc’s reported about 40% more business between Friday and Sunday compared to the previous weekend, Benincasa said. Business there also had increased when Washington Street was entirely closed to traffic between Monday, July 6, and Wednesday, July 8.

That closure stemmed from the town’s earlier plan to shut down the street to create a pedestrian promenade on Washington Street beginning Thursday, July 9. During a special July 8 meeting to address concerns about the street closure, town council members voted to halt the promenade idea.

The council later approved the closure of the parking spaces during a Tuesday, July 14, special meeting.

Benincasa, during Monday night’s meeting, said Discover Easton acknowledged communications issues related to the promenade plan.

Asked by newly appointed Councilman Rev. Elmer Neal Davis Jr. to explain, Benincasa cited three issues:

• the organization focused on speaking with restaurateurs and retailers about the plan and should have included service businesses as well;

• not all businesses were made aware of changes in the plan before the public meeting and initial approval; and

• businesses within a larger geographic zone, particularly Harrison Street, should have been included in the initial discussions.

“There was certainly a haste to this plan” in an effort to aid downtown businesses affected by pandemic closures and restrictions, Benincasa said.

Officials heard concerns from two people about safety, he said. One was from a downtown business owner who thought the initial full street closure was safer; the other was from an outside diner who felt the dining tables in the parking spaces put people “very close” to traffic.

Benincasa suggested the town modify last weekend’s setup to direct pedestrians into the parking spaces, which is the method Rehoboth has adopted for its expanded outside dining.

During Monday night’s meeting, Ward 2 Councilman Don Abbatiello initially proposed that the town continue the closure of the parking spaces from this Friday through Monday, Aug. 3, when the council next meets.

That suggestion drew opposition from Ward 1 Councilman Alan Silverstein and Davis.

Silverstein noted that the parking spaces were in use during the day Monday, while Davis said he needed to hear additional information.

“I’m more concerned about safety,” Davis said. “It’s only going to take one incident and all that will be shut down.”

Abbatiello withdrew his motion and Silverstein proposed closing the parking spaces the next two weekends, with pedestrians using the parking spaces as long as there is no accessibility issue.

His motion was approved 5-0.

During public comments, Paul Prager — who owns significant sections of downtown Easton and operates several restaurants — said his businesses and building tenants have about 150 employees working downtown and he currently has about 52 contractors working on many projects in his buildings.

He said he also had tried to get other businesses to move downtown, but parking was a major concern for those owners.

Closing the street for the promenade concept eliminated more than 20 parking spaces on Washington Street, which would have been detrimental to downtown businesses, Prager said, largely reading from a prepared statement.

“The Promenade makes no sense,” he wrote. “It should have been dead on arrival, given our town’s construct, architecture, traffic, parking and this horrible pandemic.”

Prager also took aim at Council President Megan Cook and others who he felt had targeted his businesses after he opposed the promenade.

Read his complete written statement below:

Bluepoint LTR to Easton Town Council 7-20-20

Four other people also spoke on the issue, including two with no business interests downtown.

Scott Eglseder said numerous cities had adopted concepts similar to the initial promenade.

He suggested an expanded closure beyond just the one block of Washington Street, with streets closed after 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and completely closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Noah Matten said the coronavirus threat will not be abated within the next 12 months and suggested more permanent barricades for any street closures.

“The idea of changing traffic patterns consistently increases risk for a pedestrian strike,” he said. Traffic studies show the greatest risk for pedestrian strikes occurs in the first few days after a change in traffic patterns.

Matten suggested the town close the northbound lane of Washington Street and urged Easton to ensure appropriate traffic barriers are used.

He said the rented barricades met town standards, but fencing borrowed from the Easton Police Department to complete the blocking off of the 10 parking spaces did not.

Steven Mangasarian, who owns restaurants downtown, said he had been dismayed by the tone of rhetoric surrounding the issue and suggested the animus against Prager was more personal and not related to his opposition to the Washington Street Promenade.

“I’m opening myself up to it also because unless it’s absolutely personal against Mr. Prager I too am opposing the Washington Street closure,” he said. “I own restaurants downtown, if somebody wants to boycott me, so be it. So we’ll do an experiment, it is just personal or is it just because I oppose that?”

He also noted that this past weekend had been a modified Plein Air weekend, which drew additional customers.

“There were a lot of extra people in town,” Mangasarian said. “Banning’s felt it, Breakfast in Easton felt it, so we all were lifted a little bit.”

He said he had not heard any good argument for how the street closure would help businesses, particularly restaurants, noting he had owned and operated restaurants in downtown Easton longer than all but one other restaurateur.

“I’ve been in the restaurant business 45 years,” Mangasarian said. “I’ve owned 10 restaurants, all of them successful — nobody really asked me what I thought about all this.”

“Do I think seating is a problem? I really don’t. Do we need more tables? No, not really. Granted people are seating outside, but is that at the expense of seating inside?

“We feel at Banning’s people just don’t want to seat inside, they’d rather sit outside,” Mangasarian said. “Whether it’s fear of the virus or whatever, they do want to seat outside. Is outside seating a good idea? Sure. But is closing Washington Street the solution?”

He said there are 27 parking spaces in the block of Washington Street in front of the courthouse and closing those spaces would make it difficult for customers to find parking.

Promenades “have been undeniably successful” in some places, Mangasarian said. “It’s been tried elsewhere and it’s failed.”

He said the successful ones had vibrant downtowns, nearby customers, well-planned parking and traffic, an anchor, and retail stores and restaurants.

Mangasarian also said there were longtime issues in downtown Easton, including parking and a reluctance among retailers to open on Sundays and later into the evening.

Those issues have been discussed for decades and nothing has happened, he said.

“Let’s take the time to plan it right and not just come up with semi-permanent solutions,” Mangasarian said.

The ugly reality of restaurants is that the businesses live and die on cash flow, he said. The best way to help restaurants as a result of the pandemic would be financially, whether through tax breaks or other measures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton OKs Limited Promenade for Weekend Dining

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The town council voted 3-1 Tuesday to try a very limited version this weekend of the downtown promenade that was halted in a reversal last week.

Easton will use rented barricades to close off the parallel parking spaces along Washington Street in front of Scossa Restaurant & Lounge, Doc’s Downtown Grille, and the Washington Street Pub. Both lanes of traffic will remain open.

Closing the parking spaces will allow the restaurants to expand outdoor dining, creating the opportunity for additional revenue for businesses closed for a time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and currently operating at 50 percent capacity due to continued emergency restrictions.

The parking spaces will be blocked off early Friday morning and the barricades will be removed early Monday.

The vote came Tuesday afternoon following a 90-minute special worksh0p meeting at which the council heard from several officials, but did not take public comment despite several business owners being in attendance.

Council President Megan Cook led the push to take some action in time for the weekend. Councilman Don Abbatiello made the motion to close the parking spaces for the weekend and Councilman Ron Engle voted in favor.

Councilman Al Silverstein opposed the effort, saying the town needed to properly study the plans and talk to downtown business owners after rushing the initial decision to close down the block of Washington Street between Dover and Federal streets.

Instead of closing parking spaces this weekend, Silverstein suggested the businesses take advantage of language in the mayor’s executive orders allowing restaurants to place tables — with permission of adjoining businesses — beyond the restaurant’s storefront.

It was unclear if any restaurants had sought to extend outside dining areas under that provision.

He said the town needed to look at the cost of the street closures and should determine whether a grant program would be a more effective use of the town’s funds.

Silverstein also expressed concern about social distancing as confirmed COVID-19 cases climb in Talbot County and elsewhere.

Easton Mayor Robert Willey had urged action before the vote, noting additional delays could push the issue to the end of summer and restaurants would get little benefit.

“We’re now into the third week talking about this, we’re talking about setting up a meeting next week,that may be two weeks after that, you’re into August, rapidly going into Labor Day,” Willey said. “Before you know it, the summer’s going to be over and we might as well talk about next year because we’ll be too late into the process to get something done.”

Ross Benincasa, executive director of Discover Easton, presented three options for the council to consider:

• Entirely closing the block of Washington Street, but only on weekends

• Closing the parallel parking spaces and the adjacent northbound lane of Washington Street

• Closing the parallel parking spaces and leaving the road open to traffic

Benincasa said the restaurant owners were hoping to have a plan in place for the weekend.

Town Engineer Rick VanEmburgh said the town had rented 10 barricades for the initial plan to close the block to all vehicular traffic and would be able to get 30 barricades by the weekend to close off some of the parking spaces in front of the three restaurants; closing that entire stretch would require 50 barricades.

However, the barricades also may be connected with steel bars and chains, rather than interlocking together, he said.

VanEmburgh said he was concerned about putting up the barricades on Friday afternoons after the courthouse closes.

“How do we move all those vehicles out of the space and then put the barriers in place and then the restaurants get the tables out to the street?” he asked, noting it took town crews several hours to erect the 10 barricades across Washington Street last week.

The town engineer also said he met with a consultant to discuss a traffic study for the street closure, but was told it would take 8-12 weeks and cost $30,000 to $40,000.

VanEmburgh said he also spoke with the state transportation secretary and the state would be willing to look at any planned street closures.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton Meets Today to Talk About Downtown Promenade

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The Easton town council will meet this afternoon in a workshop session to discuss downtown business. The meeting comes less than a week after the council decided in a previous workshop meeting to halt plans to close off the block of Washington Street in front of the courthouse for a pedestrian mall, outdoor concerts, and expanded outdoor dining for nearby restaurants.

In a July 12 Facebook post, Easton Town Council President Megan Cook said she is “more confident than ever that we will revisit and approve the proposed Washington Street Promenade” and anticipated “another meeting with the date and time to be announced as quickly as possible, for this very purpose.”

Today’s workshop meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the town council chambers and will be streamed live at Mid Shore Community Television’s Facebook page.

In her post on the Megan Cook for Easton Town Council President Facebook page, Cook wrote:

“As President of the Town Council, and as a longtime advocate for a more vibrant downtown Easton, I have been a strong supporter of the proposed Washington Street Promenade.

“This concept, which has proven to be highly successful in communities across Maryland, will be a lifeline for our local and independent businesses and will provide Easton’s families with an enjoyable and memorable downtown experience.

“I was disappointed by last week’s abrupt postponement of the Washington Street Promenade. The decision, and the process in which that decision was made, has understandably shaken public confidence in our town’s business climate and undermined our town’s hard-earned reputation for open and transparent government.

“To those who share my disappointment and my concerns about last week’s decision, let me assure you that it was merely a pause to, and not the end of, the Washington Street Promenade. I remain more committed than ever to a solution that achieves the economic, fiscal and quality-of-life benefits of a street closure while addressing issues that have been raised over the past several days.

“Having spoken with Mayor Willey and my Council colleagues over the past several days, I am more confident than ever that we will revisit and approve the proposed Washington Street Promenade. I anticipate that there will be another meeting with the date and time to be announced as quickly as possible, for this very purpose.

“It is my vision that the Washington Street Promenade will be remembered as the beginning of a renewed commitment by all of our town’s stakeholders toward a more vibrant downtown Easton, an economic climate that inspires innovation, and a community that offers our families the best and most memorable experiences of any in our state.”

In response to Cook’s post, one local businessman is asking the council to lay out the process for establishing any future pedestrian promenade in downtown Easton and offering a list of items for the council to consider.

In a July 13 letter to the town attorney, Zach A. Smith, an attorney for Bluepoint Hospitality, Beowulf Energy, Bluepoint Development, and their affiliates, said Bluepoint would be affected “by any plans that involve street closures, changes to traffic patterns, and the elimination of parking in and around downtown.” Bluepoint is owned and operated by Paul Prager, CEO of Beowulf Energy.

A copy of the letter also was hand-delivered to 84 downtown businesses, according to Bluepoint.

Bluepoint asked the town to address seven questions, including whether the council was considering new plans for the promenade, if such plans were available for public review, any timeline for public comment and council action, and if there were any studies/surveys of the current needs of downtown businesses.

In the letter, Smith also asked the town to consider 15 items, including:

• Providing direct notice to all downtown business owners

• Identifying specific goals and objectives for a promenade

• Hiring a traffic engineer to examine any proposed street closures and traffic diversions

• The need for additional police resources, sanitation, and publicly available, ADA accessible restroom facilities

• Getting input from the Easton Police Department, Easton Volunteer Fire Department, Talbot County Emergency Medical Services, University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton, and the town’s historic district commission, planning commission and planning staff.

• Having downtown business owners meet and develop a plan to present to the council with Tracy Ward from the Easton Economic Development Corporation recommended as a group facilitator. Bluepoint offered to host such a meeting at its auditorium on Washington Street to allow for proper social distancing.

The complete letter from Smith to Town Attorney Sharon M. VanEmburgh is below:

I am writing on behalf of Bluepoint Hospitality, Beowulf Energy, Bluepoint Development, and their affiliates (collectively, “Bluepoint”), regarding recent discussions and actions by the Town Council related to the possible establishment of a pedestrian promenade in downtown Easton.

As the owner and operator of numerous properties and businesses in downtown, Bluepoint will undoubtedly be impacted by any plans that involve street closures, changes to traffic patterns, and the elimination of parking in and around downtown. Even when such changes may be undertaken with the best of intentions, as I am sure they were here, the unintended consequences of such changes may have adverse impacts to downtown businesses, employees, and customers. For this reason, Bluepoint became very concerned by the Council’s recent decision to abruptly close what is arguably the busiest segment of the busiest street in downtown for a prolonged and open-ended period of time.

This initiative by the Town appears to have been hastily rolled out, without adequate consideration of traffic impacts and without any meaningful effort by the Town to engage all individual downtown business owners to discuss such plans in advance of implementation. As you know, the Council voted unanimously on July 7th to shelve this initial concept, after hearing concerns raised by individual Council Members, the Easton Police Department, and some downtown business owners, including Bluepoint. Bluepoint applauds this decision by the Council, and appreciates its recognition that such a significant undertaking must be carefully planned and executed to avoid potential adverse impacts to the overall downtown business community.

Based on recent public comments by Council President Megan Cook, it appears that the Council may soon consider another iteration of the downtown promenade concept. Bluepoint would like to participate in any future public discussion of any new plan(s) to ensure that the interests of its businesses, employees, and customers are considered.

Accordingly, Bluepoint has several questions related to where the Council currently stands in this process, and what that process may look like moving forward. Specifically, please provide responses to the following questions:

1. Is the Council currently considering a new plan(s) for the promenade? If so, is that plan(s) available for review by the public? If so, where?

2. If and when any new plan(s) is made available, will there be an opportunity for review and comment by the public in advance of any Council deliberations? How will the plan(s) be made available to the public? How long will the public have to review any plan(s) before the Council may take action?

3. How will the Council provide notice to the public regarding any review and deliberations on any new plan(s)?

4. In light of the current pandemic, and anticipation that there may be considerable public interest moving forward, how will the Council ensure proper social distancing and other safety protocols during its public review process?

5. Are there specific stated goals and objectives that the Council is trying to achieve by establishing a promenade? If so, what are those goals and objectives? How will success or failure be measured?

6. Have there been any studies of the current needs of downtown businesses? Have there been any surveys of downtown business owners inquiring into their current needs? If so, are these studies and/or surveys publicly available? If so, where?

7. Bluepoint understands that the Town has engaged RK&K civil engineers to provide some level of input on potential traffic impacts. Has the Town given RK&K a specific scope of services to be provided? If so, is that document publicly available? Has RK&K made any recommendations to the Town regarding the scope of services that it recommends under the circumstances? If so, will the Town authorize RK&K to perform any recommended analysis, and provide the amount time that may be needed to complete such? Will the Town make any recommendations from RK&K regarding the recommended scope of services publicly available?

In addition to seeking information regarding the questions above, Bluepoint would like to offer a few initial comments to the Council for consideration moving forward. Once any new plan(s) is made publicly available, I anticipate that Bluepoint may have additional substantive comments based on that specific plan(s), but the comments below are threshold matters that Bluepoint believes the Council should consider in advance of, or concurrent with, the development of any new plan(s).

Please forward the following initial comments to the Council for consideration:

1. Consider providing direct notice to all downtown business owners to seek their engagement in this discussion. Discussions and notices occurring on social media platforms reach some individuals, but may not reach all important constituencies. Additionally, discussions on social media platforms may discourage some from participating and/or speaking candidly. Bluepoint believes strongly that the Council’s deliberations on this matter should occur in a public meeting of the entire Council where informed comments and constructive debate are encouraged.

2. If the Council has not done so already, consider identifying specific goals and objectives that the Council wants to achieve, and consider if a promenade is likely to produce the desired outcome(s).

3. Consider the appropriate frequency and duration of any promenade that may be needed to achieve the desired outcome(s).

4. Consider potential traffic impacts related to any street closures and the resulting traffic diversions. If the Council has not done so already, consider engaging a professional traffic engineer to ensure that any changes to traffic patterns do not cause unsafe and/or otherwise undesirable conditions.

5. Consider the potential impacts to businesses, employees, and customers if important public parking opportunities are eliminated, including impacts to the elderly and individuals with disabilities.

6. Consider the potential impact that the design, size, configuration, and location of a promenade may have on downtown. Recommend requesting input from design professionals regarding important considerations related to the form and function of this type of feature.

7. Consider if there may be alternatives that provide broader benefits to the overall downtown business community, and/or may result in less harmful unintended consequences.

8. In light of the current pandemic and the increasing infection rate here locally, consider how the design of the promenade can ensure proper social distancing and other recommended safety protocols.

9. Consider the need for additional police resources and the associated costs, including any overtime pay and the costs of any additional equipment that may be needed.

10. Consider the need for additional restroom facilities, the maintenance thereof and the associated costs, and who will be responsible for such costs. Consider the need to ensure the provision of clean, ADA accessible and convenient restroom facilities.

11. Consider the need for additional sanitation, particularly in light of the current pandemic, and the associated costs.

12. Recommend requesting input from the Easton Police Department, the Easton Fire Department, and Talbot County Emergency Medical Services.

13. Recommend requesting input from the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center, to the extent that the promenade may involve a street closure.

14. Recommend requesting input from the Town’s Historic District Commission, Planning Commission and Planning staff.

15. Consider asking downtown business owners to meet in advance of any further Council deliberations to develop a plan from that group to be presented to the Council for consideration. Bluepoint is willing to host such a meeting at its auditorium on Washington Street, which will allow for proper social distancing. Such a meeting will allow business owners to discuss internally and perhaps develop a group consensus on how to best proceed.

Bluepoint recommends that Tracy Ward from the Easton Economic Development Corporation participate in such a meeting to act as a group facilitator. Assuming a consensus is reached, Tracy can then present a plan to the Council using one voice that is informed by the comments of all applicable stakeholders. Tracy can also include any minority opinions that any individual group member(s) may want relayed to the Council, and/or any individual business owner will obviously be free to address the Council directly during any subsequent Council meeting.

Bluepoint believes that careful consideration of the above should be given by the Council before it moves forward with developing and implementing any new plan(s). Bluepoint applauds the Council’s efforts to support downtown, and looks forward to participating in any upcoming public discussions. Furthermore, please know that Bluepoint stands ready to assist the Town with the design and execution of an appropriate plan that involves input from all stakeholders and that is carefully tailored to benefit the overall downtown business community.

Given the urgency expressed by the Council President in a recent social media post, it appears that the Council may be moving forward very quickly on this issue in the coming days. In light of that anticipated action, Bluepoint will be grateful if you can provide responses to the questions posed herein as soon as possible. Please also proceed by forwarding Bluepoint’s initial comments to the Council for consideration. Note, to ensure that others are kept aware of what is transpiring, Bluepoint intends to hand-deliver this letter to the owners of other downtown businesses. Bluepoint also plans to share any response(s) received from the Town with this same group to ensure transparency and the distribution of all important information.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton Mayor Issues Statement on Promenade Reversal

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Easton Mayor Robert C. Willey issued the following statement July 9 concerning the town council’s July 8 decision to halt plans to close Washington Street in front of the courthouse to vehicular traffic:

The decision of the Town Council at our July 8 work session regarding the closure of Washington Street for expanded outdoor dining for the vicinity restaurants was made based on several concerns. 

Easton Mayor Robert C. Willey

The plans to block the street were made expeditiously in an effort to provide additional income to the businesses.

In making the decision, we were unable to conduct a necessary traffic survey although concerns regarding the traffic and parking were vetted.

Those concerns came to fruition and we realized that additional studies need to be conducted.

The Town of Easton also did not have the opportunity to realize the impact the change of traffic flow would have on the businesses that were not located on Washington Street. 

Major points for the decision: 

1) Request for the closure of Washington Street was not given sufficient time and/or analysis.

2) We understand several of the surrounding businesses and retailers were not included in commenting or were not in favor of the decision–making  process of this closure.

3) Due to the plan being instituted without a traffic study, traffic patterns weren‘t able to be analyzed and some of the concerns that we anticipated, due to increased traffic on the side streets, became problematic and very dangerous which is a concern for our entire community.

4) Parking became challenging between the afternoon of July 6 and the morning of July 9 and for these reasons the town council decided to open Washington Street and to consider future opportunities. In turn, the Town intends to analyze ways that might benefit all the businesses and not negatively impact some.

5) The Town staff, Engineering Department and Easton Police Department were given the opportunity to comment and were not in favor of the closing of Washington Street and the new traffic pattern. 

This decision is a pause. Due to numerous concerns — mostly safety — the council made the decision to open the streets and delay the project until the appropriate studies and interviews can be conducted. The Town of Easton looks forward to working towards a resolution that is best for everyone. 

Robert C. Willey
Mayor of Easton

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.