Board Of Aldermen - Agenda - 3/8/2022 - P205
Graham, Donna
From: Johanna Payeur ee
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2022 12:05 PM
To: Board of Aldermen; Graham, Donna
Ce: Gary Wingate
Subject: Main Street Barriers
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unknown.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to you as a business owner on Main Street in opposition of the proposed barriers to be reinstalled. I
have occupied a large space on the corner of Temple St and Main Street (144 Main) for the last 4.5 years as a
high-end beauty salon. Prior to this location, I operated my business up on the third floor at 174 Main Street for
almost 2 years. Many years ago, my mother owned a business on Main Street, Blackbird Books and Café. I also
grew up dancing at the top of Main Street at The Dancing Corner. Main Street has held a special place in my
heart my entire life and owning a business downtown has been a huge accomplishment, however, my time
downtown is unfortunately coming to an end.
I have made the terribly difficult decision to leave downtown after being here for 6 years and to instead relocate
my business. I made this decision for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is the issue surrounding
parking and the idea of having barriers for another 3+ years has really sealed the deal for me. Our clients have
continuously complained about the lack of parking to be found downtown, especially when the barriers are up.
It should be noted that we are fortunate enough to have a very large bridal clientele, doing makeup and hair for
over 100 weddings a year. Part of this service is having brides come to our salon to have a ‘trial run’ of their
hair and makeup prior to their big day. We have brides not only from the Southern New Hampshire area, but
from all over the country who come to Nashua for their appointment. While here, they ask where they can go
for lunch or shopping after their appointment, but oftentimes are swayed away from actually going out to eat or
to shop because their parking is limited on time, and they don’t want to risk driving around aimlessly to find
another spot and deal with working around the barriers. It’s truly a shame to turn away people who are visiting
the area, who want to spend their time and money at other downtown establishments, strictly because of the
parking issue.
My opposition is not to take away from the restaurants and the benefit that expanded seating has had for them,
but for a downtown to really thrive, we must consider ALL businesses. The restaurants make up just small
percentage of the total businesses on Main Street, some of which don’t even open until 4pm. The sidewalks
were expanded years ago to help with allowing for more outdoor dining and to make room for more foot traffic.
There is no reason we cannot utilize the sidewalks as we always have.
To consider putting up the unsightly Jersey Barriers again is not only detrimental to the large percentage of non-
restaurant businesses but it is also a large deterrent for people to even come downtown. The traffic caused by
these barriers is asinine, the businesses are hurting and closing/moving, and it will only get worse as the PAC
opens.
