TRURO - Truro town council will be asking downtown merchants for their opinion on how to deal with potential street closures to accommodate town events.
A petition was recently presented to council from about a dozen merchants on Inglis Place regarding their desire to see the street remain open during large community events.
An example given was closing the street to vehicles when the motorcycle rally was held on Inglis Place in August.
The town's solicitor, John Rafferty, said the Municipal Government Act states the decision to close a street falls in the hands of the town engineer.
Coun. Raymond Tynes suggested council and the public should not "override" the engineer's decision.
"Unless someone can show me where there's a safety issue, we should not override the engineer," said Tynes.
Coun. Charles Cox said the issue comes down to economics.
"I can't believe Inglis Street merchants wouldn't want the benefit of people there and shopping," during events that close off the street.
Brigitte LaPointe, manager of Temptations on Inglis Place, told the Truro Daily News she can see the positive and negative impacts of closing the street for special events.
"The last time there was a street closing there were new people who hadn't seen (the store) before. As an advertising tool, it was probably not a bad thing," LaPointe said. "But it does kill your business for the day."
Council will send a letter to merchants who signed the petition for more feedback.
"We want to know if they have more suggestions," said Mayor Bill Mills, adding it could be an option to "consider moving (public events) to Commercial Street."
After replies are received, council will discuss the issue again. It could potentially be revisited at the November public meeting on Nov. 7.
