Council, staff discuss the events calendar

DOWNINGTOWN >> Police and borough staff discussed the borough events calendar with council members last week noting the calendar is filling up with events and impacting traffic.

Downingtown Police Lt. Howard Holland and Jack Law, director of the Department of Public Works, asked council members during their Aug. 5 meeting for guidance and a recommendation if limiting events is necessary because of traffic concerns.

Law said they were recently asked to schedule three new events to the borough calendar that all have potential to impact traffic. He asked if they should continue scheduling events or limit the number of events because they have received complaints from borough residents.

He said that Johnstown is the only area of the borough that is not impacted by any events. While the other sections of the borough

have at least three events that cause impacts. He said of the 52 events within the borough, about 20 have an effect on the residential areas and traffic.

With the borough calendar quickly filling, Holland said they want guidance from council before a full calendar becomes a problem. He said if the calendar continues to fill, he is unsure if they will have the space to host the events.

“It would be nice to have some guidance from you guys, because I keep saying yes, and I keep supplying them,” Holland said. “But sooner or later, your constituents are going to come back and say, hey we’ve had enough. So before it gets to that point, I’d like to have some ideas from council, what you’re intending to do.”

Holland said the main roads used to travel east and west are Pennsylvania Avenue and Business Rt. 30. He said the events, including ones like 5K runs and parades that involve selecting a route, may impact the roadways.

“All these events that are coming to town are great events,” Holland said.

While they still have space for more events, he said he does not want to turn away any of the current events in the borough. He said they want to fit all events, especially if it is what the council members want, including if they want to do “two in a weekend, which is fine. If you want to try and do two in one day, that’s problematic.”

Holland said he asks how many participants are expected when organizers seek permission for the event. This helps the borough to plan for the event and seek resources such as police officers, fire police and others who would assist.

Police and borough staff are on scene to assist and to help prevent injuries. Holland said that police from surrounding areas also help the Downingtown police with any necessary athletic events held by the Downingtown Area School District and Bishop Shanahan High School.

Holland said they will accommodate what they can with the knowledge of what council recommends.

Council President Anthony “Chip” Gazzerro recommended considering that events can be spaced out events or to allow only certain days to be available for planned events. He asked them to review the schedule, including athletic games, and determine how many events the staff can handle.

Councilwoman Patricia McGlone said if the events help the borough financially then they should continue assisting and allowing the events. She asked a business owner in the audience, who said that they may get business following events or it may hurt their sales.

Law agreed it could go either way.

“Sometimes it shuts them down,” Law said. “Sometimes it shuts out the residents out of their homes for four or five hours.”

Gazzerro said that residents have informed him of their concerns of the routes near their homes. He asked Law and Holland to make a recommendation to help council understand how many events are doable.