OP/ED: Downtown Concord Improvement Committee Should Look at All Options

By Robert Baker

Editor's Note: The following letter was sent to Mayor Jim Bouley, Steve Duprey, the chairman of the Downtown Complete Streets Improvement Project Advisory Committee, and various media outlets. In other emails, Robert included a link to his blog, Cycle Main Street, which has even more extensive information about his ideas.

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Dear Mayor Bouley,

I am grateful for the opportunity to testify before the committee and thank you for making the suggestion that public comment and testimony should be at every meeting.

I respectfully disagree that on-street parking downtown is what prevents businesses from surviving. Your public vow that parking will not be reduced is an impediment to the process as I see it. Evidence around the country and globe show that parking (storage) is not what drives a downtown to thrive. What is needed is a living space for people so that they find downtown a compelling and attractive place to go to - to meet their friends, to shop, to enjoy a movie. The evidence is clear to me and I believe that when those with preconceived notions, about the value of Main Street parking, really look at the issue in whole they will gain a new perspective.

As I engage in the process I am working to support the committee. I respectfully ask you to find an appropriate way to communicate that what you said about parking is not cast in stone. Please allow the committee to have a truly clean slate to work with, not one with a caveat. I strongly believe that it is this one restriction which will strangle downtown Concord as our communities change and grows into the 21st century. This project will be a part of your legacy with the city - let's make sure it has every opportunity to thrive.

Respectfully,

Robert

Robert T. Baker lives in Concord.