Bangor Is Going To Close Off Some Traffic To Open Up Businesses

Cori posted an article earlier this week, sort of posing the question of whether Bangor should follow suit similar to Portland, and close off some traffic so that downtown business can expand outside to better meet social distancing practices. Obviously, everyone has their own personal opinion, but it's intent is to re-open businesses.

That's pretty awesome news to a lot of great local businesses downtown. Maybe your favorite clothing or book store can actually get a little mask time with its customers for the first time in a few months. A chance for folks to do something familiar and comforting. Just a little retail therapy, instead of another walking trail you've been down 236 times in the last two months.

According to WFVX - TV22, city officials have been working out the details and logistics of closing streets, in not only a safe manner, but also the least impacting on traffic. They hope to solidify plans in the coming days, and potentially roll it out in June.

We’re going to review plans and make sure that the sidewalk is still passable and that there’s nothing dangerous with jutting out into the road. There will be plenty of blockades and signage to make sure that cars know that there’s a change in traffic pattern.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm all for it. Businesses are all looking to see if they can make this work. And they really need us right now. Constant shipping, or curbside pickup for things is certainly convenient, but it doesn't replace human interaction. Sure, it's also a little scary. It's going to take a bit to adjust to being around people again.

In the end, it's a classic case of, 'you can please some of the people all of the time...', but there are a lot of positives here that carry a lot of weight. So why not try it? If it doesn't work we can always go back, but we'll never know unless we try.