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Graham, Donna

From: Jay Coffey

Sent: Friday, February 11, 2022 9:19 AM

To: Board of Aldermen

Ce: Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim

Subject: Main Street - expanded seating and barriers

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

As a resident and businessowner, I’m opposed to the continuation of the expanded
sidewalk tables and barriers on Main Street for upcoming summer months. Certainly the
outside seating was needed for the summer of 2020, it probably saved many businesses
and jobs that year, but we are now in a different time and the need no longer exist.

The reduction of parking and travel lanes constricted travel up and down Main Street,
during the summer months I would avoid traveling on Main St. as much as possible, I
would go far out of my way to get over to the Broad Street Parkway to avoid the
congestion from Library Hill to City Hall. When you were on Main Street or the side
streets, you usually sat for several traffic light cycles before you could move a block.

The restaurants aren’t the only businesses downtown, one type of business can’t be to
the determinant of the other businesses on the street. Every business on Main Street
pays taxes and should have full access to the sidewalks, the parking in front of their
business, and the public should be able to travel without impediment on the sidewalks
and streets. The limited sidewalk seating worked perfectly for years, and it should be
returned.

If there is another reason why the city feels the expanded seating is necessary, it should
be transparent and disclose the reason, open it up for debate. It doesn’t make sense to
say the expanded outside seating is needed for Covid safety when it is safe to eat inside
for 8 months of the year, but not the other 4 months of the year. This summer is the
time to return to normalcy and not expend the seating and install the barriers.

Jay Coffey | Executive Vice President | The Coffey Insurance Agency

2 Wellman Avenue, suite 320 Nashua, NH 03064-1463
P:603-883-6600 | F: 603-882-0091 | C: 603-566-1141 | email: jcoffey@coffeyins.com

Coffey
The Coffey

Insurance
Agency
*The Right People, The Right Coverage. The Right Choe”

Graham, Donna

From: Linda Piche

Sent: Friday, February 11, 2022 11:34 AM
Ta: Board of Aldermen

Ce: Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim
Subject: Downtown Nashua Barriers

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

Good morning,

I work at a law firm in downtown Nashua on East Pearl Street (and am a resident of Nashua as well) and wanted
to make my opinion known regarding the barriers placed on Main Street and East Pearl St. during March-
November. It is my understanding that there is an upcoming Board of Alderman meeting, and that during this
meeting there will be discussion and a vote on extending the barriers for three years.

I can understand and support the reasons why the barriers were put up in 2020 to allow the restaurants to expand
their outdoor seating areas. However, this past year they created many traffic issues and other problems for
downtown businesses. There is very little parking on Main Street for both the restaurants and other

businesses. As a result of the barriers, there is so much traffic congestion - almost every day between March
and November I would sit in traffic through several light cycles as a result of the four lanes being reduced to
two lanes. It is a huge safety issue as well, in terms of getting fire trucks and emergency vehicles

through. Luckily, the Main Street area has not had any catastrophic events during this time period, but if they
did, the barriers would greatly impede any progress they would make.

The restaurants that are currently open on Main Street have plenty of sidewalk areas for their outdoor dining
during the summer months. I completely support that. But to continue to place the barriers on Main Street and
surrounding streets (especially for three more years!!), and reduce the traffic lanes on Main Street would create
so much difficulty for the other businesses as well as for people who work here or would like to shop
downtown. Please consider this my vote, both as a resident and a person who works in downtown Nashua,
against placing the barriers on Main Street.

Thank you!
Best regards,

Linda M. Piche

Linda M. Piche
Clancy & O'Neill, P.A.

Graham, Donna

From: Catherine Eames <Q
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2022 12:34 PM

To: Board of Aldermen; Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim
Ce: momeames@icloud.com

Subject: Permanent removal of the jersey barriers, please!!

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

February 7, 2022

Board Of Aldermen
City of Nashua — City Hall

To Whom It May Concern —

| am writing to add my voice to support those downtown Nashua business owners
who want the Jersey Barriers permanentiy removed from Main Street.

Although | no longer live in Nashua, my siblings and | own investment

property along Lake and Vine Streets and we and our tenants regularly go
downtown and support local businesses. Everywhere, while standing in line, the
conversation is about how tough it is to find a parking space. Any decision to
return the barriers and reduce the driving and parking lanes will only make this
problem worse. Convenient parking allows residents and visitors alike to stop and
do quick errands as well as spend extended time downtown in banks and law and
insurance offices. Shopkeepers and restaurant owners need our support, too, and
their promotions and advertising are worthless if customer parking is not readily
available. The barriers take away much needed spaces. Parking problems have
existed downtown since | was a kid. Garages were built but now their use is

often restricted and monthly parking pass holders can’t always find daytime
parking in them. The High Street parking lot has been cut back for

apartments. How will our downtown businesses survive without convenient
parking? Why are these business owners’ voices not being heard at City Hall? |
add my voice to those who want the barriers gone forever.

1

Catherine Conway Eames, The Conway Companies, Nashua, NH

Graham, Donna

From: Robert (Erste iar
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2022 2:57 PM
To: Board of Aldermen

Cc: Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim
Subject: Nashua BOA

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

Dear Board of Alderman,

| have been made aware that the city of Nashua is in discussion of continuing to eliminate on street
parking during certain months for a 3 year period.
As a city of Nashua native and a business owner, | would like to express my concerns.

First and foremost is the safety for emergency vehicles getting through the bottle neck created by the
barriers. During an emergency, time is of
the essence! With two lanes of travel, 1 northbound and1 southbound, it is not safe for fire

apparatus, police and ambulances to get
through in a safe and timely manner. If there was ever a fire on Main Street and there was a need to

set up a ladder truck to assist residents living
in apartments above these businesses, | believe it would completely shut down traffic on Main Street.

Secondly, fire and emergency personnel would be climbing over a 36" barrier rather than a 6 inch
curbing.

Please reconsider your thinking before we have a catastrophe on Main Street because of decisions
that are not completely thought through.

| also would like to bring up the appearance of our Main Street with the barriers. As | look down Main

Street from Library Hill, | feel like am driving into
a dark hole. The heart of Nashua should be bright and cheery not dark and unattractive.

Maybe with the cost of leasing these barriers and the cost of installing/removing concrete barriers on
Main Street for 3 years, we could use these monies to
upgrade the street lights and make our Main Street safer and more appealing to everyone.

As far as the restaurants on Main Street having outside seating, | don't have any problems with tables
being on the sidewalks, as long as there is enough
room for pedestrians to walk by safely.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Robert Maffee
Northern Foreign Car Parts Inc

11 Broad St
Nashua NH 03064
603-889-8144

Graham, Donna

From: barbara burnharn gi
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2022 4:11 PM

To: Board of Aldermen

Ce: Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim

Subject: Nashua BOA

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

February 11, 2022

Dear Nashua BOA,

We are writing this letter as concerned business owners for over 60 years in Nashua. Parking 60
years ago was at a premium anid it is still an issue for many downtown merchants today.

The concrete barriers that are installed on roads such as Clinton Street where my business is,
definitely affects my parking which is already limited in that area.

During the times with high COVID counts, | totally understand that the barriers were installed to help
with the restaurant business. Patrons were afraid to dine during the high covid times and this was an
option for their survival.

What you are asking of smali businesses for 3 more years of this parking restriction, would be
detrimental to all businesses who are trying to hold on in these bad economic times. With the barriers
installed, it eliminates many parking spots and without customers, we would not survive.

While many of these restaurants are open for late lunches and evenings, these concrete barriers are
affecting the small businesses that are open all day 8-5.

| would ask that you take our comments into consideration before you vote on this ordinance.
Sincerely,

Thomas Maffee

Steven Maffee

Maffee’s Garage

11 Clinton Street

Nashua, NH 03060

(603)889-9201

To the Nashua Board of Alderman:

We, at Nashua Riverfront Dentistry, are a family-owned dental business. We were shut
down during the beginning of the pandemic and when, in 2020, the barricades were
installed to help the restaurants re-open with expanded outdoor dining, we cheered at
the effort. We believed this was important to get people back to work and to help
restore our community with a small amount of normalcy.

That was in 2020. Now comes 2021 with barricades again. We sincerely believe that
ALL businesses on Main Street should be permitted the opportunity to succeed and
thrive. That was not the case in 2021. Many of our customers are elderly or disabled
and had difficulty finding parking even in our own private parking at the rear of the
building. This is because a lot of people, with the lack of parking on Main Street,
decided to illegally use our lot. Also, the barricades as you exit Pearson Av, made it
very difficult for old people (and not) to make an easy right turn and enter traffic.

Our employees travel to work from out of town and the elimination of two lanes means it
takes 2-3 times as long to travel Main Street getting to work. Our delivery truck must
plan extra time for the traffic on Main Street when there are just two lanes. The effect
has been fewer patients served because of the barricades.

Therefore, we DO NOT support the use of barricades for expanded outdoor dining. We
DO support outdoor dining and our local restaurant businesses. In fact, we support
them as customers; we are frequent patrons of all the restaurants on Main Street. But
even our staff has found with the barricades it takes too long to order take-out from a
restaurant on the other side of Main Street. We cannot pickup the food and get back to
the south end of Main Street with enough time to eat.

The proposed ordinance will effectively cause economic hardship for certain businesses
on Main Street in favor of other businesses on Main Street. We think this is unfair and
wrong. The proposed ordinance will effectively support and promote customer activity
for some shoppers while impeding the ability of other customers (i.¢., elderly and
disabled) from shopping on Main Street. We have seen this firsthand in our business
during 2020 and 2021. We cannot tolerate another year of this unfair and unwarranted
preference for some businesses and customers over others.

In 2022, Main Street should be open for business for all customers and all businesses;
Covid19 protective measures like mask wearing and social distancing can continue to
occur without the barricades on Main Street. Outdoor dining will continue to occur
without the barricades. We believe the overreaching ordinance for expanded outdoor
dining and barricades on Main Street should not be adopted because it is restrictive to
general commerce, discriminates against certain shoppers, and promotes economic
preference for some businesses over others.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please place this email/letter in the Next
Board of Aldermen Meeting Packet.

Sincerely,

Franco Liberatore

Nashua Riverfront Dentistry
60 Main Street, Suite 330
Nashua NH 03060

Graham, Donna

From: Fresh of Nashua See

Sent: Friday, February 11, 2022 4:52 PM
To: Board of Aldermen; Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim
Subject: Downtown Barriers 2022 season.

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

Hello,

As a small business owner who has seen a downturn in business the past 2 spring/summer/fall seasons due
to the lack of on-street parking, | would like to ask you to consider some sort of compromise when voting on
the barriers for extended outdoor dining for the downtown restaurants.

| do realize how important during the covid surge it was to have extended outdoor seating in order to help the
restaurants survive. However, it came at a cost to the small retailers such as Fresh, and service providers such
as hair salons, etc...

The first year there were 3 parking spots available outside my storefront, the second year only 2? Not sure
why that had to happen but | ask you to consider at least going back to 3 spots.

Also, how about a shorter season? Mid-March is cold, damp, even snowy and except for the occasional nice
day, outdoor dining really won't fill up until mid-May thru maybe mid-October.

As for the parking argument, | have many female customers who shop alone that refuse to park in the garages
for fear of being accosted by homeless or panhandlers. | myself would not if alone.

Much of my spring-summer business comes from someone driving by and finding an open spot. in the past 2
years, many did not shop because they found it too difficult to get through the downtown due to the barriers
and one-lane backups of traffic.

| know this is difficult for all, | am just asking for some compromise as | really do not want to leave downtown.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your consideration when voting.

Regards
Cheryl Plunkett

Cheryl Plunkett
Fresh of Nashua
178 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060