City Council Minutes 2024 03 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes March 19, 2024 Page 7 of 14 Mary Dibble, Louisville, stated it is being ramrodded through with no information given to residents. Get more information and look at residential parking before doing anything. She is concerned it may increase unhoused people in the area. Tom Rafferty, Louisville, stated rerouting the traffic will keep people from shopping on Main Street and will put pressure on other streets that are not designed for it. He suggested finding other ways like design and signage to bring more people downtown. Marianne Gibbs, Louisville, stated she enjoys activities and businesses on Main Street and wants to see it thrive, but a closure will bring unanticipated impacts. During COVID neighbors put up with it but it needs to be studied more before making a decisions. Elisa Passarelli, Louisville, stated she is concerned about people using the alleyways as shortcuts if Main Street is closed. She also noted the alleys are used by delivery trucks and they are blocked much of the time making access a problem. She suggested more signage to bring people downtown. Jeremy Carlson, Louisville, stated they enjoy living downtown and being able to walk to downtown. He supported the closures during COVID and supports it again now. Eric Lund, Louisville Chamber of Commerce, stated the Chamber members were surveyed and strongly support the temporary closure to bring more people downtown. They would like the closure to support the vision of the DBA. Alan Muir, Louisville, stated he feels a closure of Main Street will negatively impact the quality of life of the neighbors and make the streets less safe for kids walking or on bikes. He stated the impacts outweigh the benefit of a closure. Susan Honstein, Louisville, stated the sidewalks on LaFarge create difficulties for people with disabilities to access the bus. She said Main Street is important to everyone and the City should find other ways to help the businesses including signage and a parking management plan. She would like a way for neighbors to give input to the downtown businesses directly. Mark Oberholzer, Louisville, stated as both a resident and a business owner he supports the closure as it makes it a great gathering place people want to be. He stated it worked during COVID and he supports doing it again. Cynthia Come, Louisville, stated she worries about safety with so many kids walking and biking. She suggested pausing until that could be addressed. Buses and trucks on La Farge are not an option that will work. Christian Dino, Louisville, stated he supports this measure to help the businesses who have been struggling through COVID. We need to support the economic vitality in our community. We should look for solutions to alleviate the concerns of the neighbors.