HOULTON, Maine — Changes to Houlton’s downtown traffic flow during the Community Market season may soon be in the works.
Houlton Town Councilors discussed the idea of closing off the northern side of Market Square, from the Temple Theatre to just before Key Bank, during Monday night’s regular council meeting. No action was taken during the meeting, but the proposal seemed to generate support from several of those on the council.
The agenda item was for conversational purposes only and was placed on the agenda at the request of Jane Torres, executive director of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, explained Town Manager Butch Asselin. Torres is also a member of the town council.
“You have vendors with their backs toward cars, which is a safety matter,” explained Torres. “It would just be more of a festival type atmosphere if we could consolidate the vendors and put them right in the road.”
The Community Market is held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Memorial Day Weekend to Columbus Day. The road would essentially be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with an access to the west. Rob Lawless, president of the Houlton Community Market Association, said the request to close the street was a safety issue.
“We feel it would make it a much safer and larger area to hold some of the additional vendors we expect to have this season,” Lawless said. “By closing it off, it will be a much better setup than we have had in previous years.”
The majority of the downtown merchants were in support of the road closure.
“It is my understanding that the merchants have all been spoken to and are in favor of it,” Lawless said. “We do plan to leave some spots open in front of Key Bank.”
Motorists would still have access to the Market Square Commons parking lot and apartment complex by taking a left as they enter the downtown area from the North and Bangor streets intersection.
Houlton Police Chief Joe McKenna gave his endorsement to the traffic plan.
“One of the concerns I had was cars driving through that area with people mingling among the various vendors that are out there,” McKenna said. “There is the potential that someone could get hit. For safety reasons it makes sense to close it off completely. There was some concerns from Key Bank, but I feel we have addressed that concern.”
The matter will be brought back to the Houlton Council at a future meeting for a formal vote.
