A controversy is brewing between Roswell and downtown restaurant owners as the city announces plans to close part of Canton Street to vehicular traffic, making way for a pedestrian district.
Canton Street restaurant owners will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill Street, to voice objections to those plans.
“Parking is already a major problem downtown,” said Jenna Aronowitz, owner of 1920 Tavern, in a Tuesday statement. “Closing Canton Street to cars for any length of time results in a loss of business.”
Mayor Kurt Wilson, in a Facebook video released Tuesday night, said the city wants to create a pedestrian environment for visitors to the restaurant district and temporarily close Canton to vehicular traffic from Highway 9/Magnolia Street to East Alley.
The section would be closed on Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day weekend until early August.
Wilson said the partial road closure will not become permanent if local businesses suffer economically then
“We’re not in the business to hurt businesses,” the mayor said. “We’re in the business to help businesses grow.”
Wilson was accompanied by Councilwomen Christine Hall and Lee Hills in the video. The three said traffic noise and the safety of outdoor diners, seated at tables located closed to the roadway were part of the motivation for change.
Cities across the U.S. transformed streets into pedestrian districts during the pandemic and found that it spurred economic activity, Hall added.
Places such as Laguna Beach, California and Wellesley, Massachusetts “have had such tremendous success that they have continued this and they’re looking at other opportunities to enhance other areas of their towns,” Hall said in the video.
Aronowitz and fellow restaurant owners have long complained to city officials about limited parking for patrons and employees. A $20 million downtown parking deck that will be funded by a bond referendum approved in 2022 is expected to be built within two years.
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