Welcome to yellow and cautious freedoms. Patios are open everywhere and under the sunshine of the past weekend it was a beautiful site. However, even with restaurants setting up tables wherever they can, space is limited. One option being floated is to close Gay Street from Matlack to Darlington Street and let businesses and expand across the street.
The idea has a lot of support from the business community and seemingly from Borough Council and residents – although not without some hesitations and lots of questions. Two weeks ago, Borough Council approved advancing the proposal to the planning phase with the intent of getting some answers to these questions. Now it appears, it is decision time.
A special meeting of Borough Council has been scheduled for this Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. to discuss the plan to close Gay Street from Matlack to Darlington Streets for the summer to allow for additional outdoor dining.
According to a comment left by Borough Council Member Don Braceland on Nextdoor, the “complete plan will be presented and the public will be able to comment.”
Borough Council Meeting on Gay Street Closure Scheduled for June 9 @ 5:45 p.m.
If you have questions, opinions, or are just interested in learning more about what is planned, now is your chance to participate.
Information on how to request WebEx access is here – or the meeting is now posted on the homepage of the Borough website as well.
While, the closure would undoubtedly be good for businesses it is less clear the effect it will have on Borough finances, which are also under strain due to the pandemic. You can learn more about the Borough’s financial situation in last week’s Roundup and here’s another way to support local restaurants (even if you can’t get a seat at the table).
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