Bangor Businesses Hope To Keep Some Of The Pandemic Rule Changes
Most folks will likely agree, 2020 has been pretty much a crap year. It started out ok, but spiraled quickly out of control, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while I can only speak for myself, I'm under the assumption, that most of us are looking forward to the New Year. Even with the holiday surge and all that comes with it.
However, if you have even the smallest shred of positivity in your soul, you'd realize that there were a few bright spots throughout the year that made things a bit more bearable. For instance, did you ever think in your lifetime, you were going to have liquor stores delivering beer to your house? Can we keep that one, please?!
Some businesses in downtown Bangor feel the same way. Some of the changes the city allowed downtown to make things easier for businesses to be open, they would like to see stay on the books. Many business owners and residents felt some of these were extremely beneficial, and could be for years to come.
For instance, a lot really loved the 15 minute parking spots that allowed folks to get in and out of places quicker on Central Street. Folks also really enjoyed having that small section of Broad Street closed to vehicular traffic, which also opened up opportunities for spots to have "parklets", which translates to bigger outdoor seating areas.
Some of these changes were met with less enthusiasm than others, but overall, a lot of folks were very positive about the idea. Many also agreed that maybe some of these changes could be seasonal, as opposed to year-round. But a lot remains to be seen as to what actually sticks.
At any rate, the BDN reports that officials surveyed 45 downtown businesses, as well as almost 250 residents about these proposed changes, to get a temperature on how folks may react. the reaction has been basically warm. But there's a lot of moving parts. We'll keep you in the loop as the outcome becomes more clear.