A 10-to-1 margin of business owners in the downtown area believe
the Historic District designation and the Main Street Manager do
not benefit their businesses, according to a survey conducted by
City Councilman Tom Riel.
Also on the survey, a 3-to-1 margin of business owners responded
in favor of removing parking meters from the downtown, Riel
explained on Friday.
“This is the people who own and operate businesses and pay bills
on Main Street,” Riel said. “This is their wishes regarding the
downtown issues. I can’t say as I disagree with them.”
Riel explained he conducted the survey – independently of city
council – at 37 businesses on Main, East Corydon and East
Washington streets and in that area.
“There’s more than 20 empty buildings/storefronts in the area
where I took the survey,” Riel said. “The people who foot the bill
in the Historic District … the numbers speak for themselves.”
There are 10 questions on the survey. Riel provided a copy of
the survey and a tally of the final numbers to The Era on Friday;
each individual respondent’s answers remain confidential, he
explained. Not all respondents answered all questions, Riel
added.
Four of the questions refer to parking in the downtown, four to
the Historical District and the Historic Architectural Review Board
and two to the Main Street Manager’s position.
When asked if downtown Bradford’s historic designation has
benefited their business, 32 respondents said no and three said
yes. When asked if the full-time employment of a Main Street
manager has benefited their business, 31 said no and three said
yes.
“I did talk to several business owners who said they didn’t know
what the Main Street Manager looks like – and that’s not funny,”
Riel said, referring to Manager Diane DeWalt.
The survey reads, “Given the ongoing condition of our downtown
area, particularly Main Street, do you feel that the full-time
employment of a Main Street Manager is necessary and
effective?”
Eight respondents said yes, while 29 said no.
“The downtown business people have voiced their opinion,” Riel
said.
The business people also said – by a 10 to 1 margin – that HARB
is too restrictive. And by a 33-to-1 margin, the respondents said
HARB should not be more restrictive than in the past, as has been
suggested by the current HARB board.
Chairman Brian MacNamara has sent a letter to council on behalf
of the board suggesting more restrictive changes in Historic
District ordinances.
“HARB already has people on a leash,” Riel opined. “Now they
want to put them on a choker collar.”
Also in the survey, 31 respondents disagree that the city should
use public resources to rehabilitate the former Angells
Entertainment building, while three believe it would be
acceptable.
“If the city finds a private person to help with the building
through grants or loans, then good luck to them,” Riel said,
echoing the sentiments of the majority of business people.
The Office of Economic and Community Development is looking to
find interested private developers for the building before
proceeding in any other manner.
The remaining issue is also one that the business people felt
strongly about, Riel explained.
“The purpose of parking meters is supposed to be to regulate
parking,” he said. Leaving them in place “is not downtown
friendly,” Riel said.
Twenty-eight business owners advocated the removal of all the
parking meters downtown, while nine were in favor of keeping them.
Of the ones in favor of keeping them, six said they should remain
on Main Street but be removed from the side streets.
“Towns all over Pennsylvania are taking them out,” Riel said.
“It can only help the downtown. This reinforces what I publicly
proposed in March – the meters in downtown Bradford all need to
come out.
“I’ll volunteer to help haul them away,” he added.
