‘OPEN-AIR MARKET’
Borough to close Bridge Street every weekend this summer
If you’ve ever been to “Blobfest,” or the many other street events in Phoenixville, you know how the closing of Bridge Street gives the downtown a festive, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.
And if you’ve ever tried to drive through Phoenixville during one of those events, or get to a business on the closed part of the street, you know the traffic delays and frustration it can cause.
Starting at the end of May, through the first weekend in October, both those experiences will be multiplied this year.
The reason is a 6-1 vote by the borough council to close the 100 and 200 blocks of Bridge Street every Friday through Monday, beginning May 27 and ending Oct. 3. Councilwoman Dana Dugan cast the sole vote against the idea at the March 8 meeting.
The idea was born out of measures taken to help businesses, restaurants in particular, during the pandemic. Closing the street allowed more activities to take place outside, where the risk of spreading COVID-19 was diminished. Some believe it worked so well, it should be continued.
The vote did not come without some debate and the measure approved was reduced from the original proposal recommended by the Parks and Recreation Committee, which had called for the closures to extend through Nov. 7.
During the meeting, there was some pushback by business owners who said the closures would have a negative impact on their business, as well as support from other business owners who said they believed the closures to be good for business.
Sue Meadows, from Generations Toy Store, complained to the council that local businesses had not been included in the planning
for the closures. She said responses to a survey by the Phoenixville Business Alliance indicated business owners who responded would prefer the closures occur once a month, not every weekend.
Wendy Kirby, a merchant from the Belle Haven store, told the council making areas pedestrianfriendly in this way works best when there is adequate parking and public transportation, which, she suggested, Phoenixville does not have.
The owner of Ellie’s Choice said when Bridge Street is closed, it cuts down on her business, still struggling to recover from COVID-losses, because customers have no place to park. She supported closing Bridge Street once a month instead.
But John McAfee, the manager at Diving Cat Gallery studios, spoke in favor of the move, saying many businesses are closed on Saturday and the street closings would support the restaurants downtown. He said the gallery does significant business from walk-ins when the street is closed.
However, resident Janice Swar said Phoenixville’s side streets see increases in traffic, noise and pollution when Bridge Street is
closed so often.
Council members too expressed their doubts, Dugan most forcefully.
“I don’t know where to begin with this. This road is a thoroughfare. It’s not meant for this,” Dugan said of closing Bridge Street every weekend. “I’m willing to do this one weekend a month, Doing it every weekend is overkill. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“What I’m struggling with is it seems the borough is taking the lead here,” said Councilman Richard Kirkner. “This is one of the most divisive issues we’ve seen in a long time. We can’t say there is unanimity among the businesses on this. If businesses want it, they should come to us.”
“The 200 and 100 block of Bridge Street are the connector between two state highways,” Kirkner said. “We don’t have the infrastructure. We don’t have the road layout for it. I worry about stress in residential areas. This could drive out homeowners.”
Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler spoke strongly in favor of the initiative.
He told the borough council the closures, under the original proposal, would impact 27 total weekends, 18 of which already have some sort of event that warrant some sort of closure or traffic diversion. “Can we turn every day in Phoenixville into a ‘First Friday?’” he asked. “This is no longer as a result of COVID, but to make a destination of Phoenixville.”
As for parking, Urscheler said in April of 2021, the borough had increased the number of available parking spots by 32 percent by taking over management of other lots. Another 120 parking spots are expected to be added by June, bringing the total to 660.
Additionally, there are close to 310 parking spots in the downtown, owned by churches and non-profits, which want to make those spots available on weekends, bringing the total number of parking places to 850 spots on weekends.
“Whatever happens, we do need to work together,” Urscheler told the council. “We need to look at business hours. Can people go into a shop after they eat dinner?”
Councilman Brian Weiss also spoke in favor of the plan, saying a poll showed the community is “overwhelmingly in favor of this. If we pass this tonight, nothing says we can’t reconsider it at any stage if things are going sideways.”
“Knowing not everyone loves the idea, I think it’s a bold vision and I’d like to see it through,” Weiss said. He noted that First Fridays and the Food Truck Festival were both “divisive” as well when they were first suggested. Both, “by all measures and accounts, are a wild success.”
“We need to address the genuine distress these important businesses are experiencing on Main Street and Gay Street,” said Councilman Brian Moore. “We haven’t really done this under normal conditions, from spring through fall.”
Moore said it is also important for borough leaders to define success and “we need to define now what ‘not working’ is.”
He further said Kirkner “is asking the right questions. We’re already a destination. We’re already successful. Why do we need this?”
One reason, said Council President Jonathan Ewald, is “so we don’t plateau. We’re on a forward trajectory right now. Lots of communities looking to us, calling us, asking us how we do it.”
“We’re never going back to life before COVID,” said Councilwoman Beth Burckley. “Things have been permanently changed. Business has changed, technology has changed. We also need to change because life has changed. I’d like to give it a good honest try.”
“I think we can make this work, but I’m hoping for some kind of compromise,” said Councilman James Carminito. “I feel strongly about dialing it back a bit. But I do see the vision and I do think it’s unique.”
And that’s just what happened. Moore proposed cutting the number of weekends the street would be closed by about two months in the fall and all council members but Weiss agreed to that amendment. Moore also asked for and got agreement on concrete steps to be taken for announcing weather cancellations and for traffic control at the intersection of bridge and Starr streets to direct traffic coming into the borough from Mont Clare.
“I would hope the whole community would get behind it and have fun with it,” said Burckley.
Meadows thanked the council “for listening to both sides,” and asked that any task force or committee set up to oversee the initiative include representatives of the businesses affected.
“We will work with you. We want it to be a success,” said business owner Joan Brady. “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right, and let’s do it together.”