The Downtown Gloucester Block Party that once again drew residents and visitors alike to Main Street last Saturday was the last of the year.
And there is a general agreement that this year's three events have carried on the spirit and momentum generated by the two that were pulled together so quickly in August and October 2008. With outdoor dining and arts and entertainment presentations, these "parties" have succeeded in introducing or re-acquainting many people to all that Gloucester's downtown has to offer. That's especially important now, with last week's opening of Gloucester Crossing and more openings due there over the next three to four weeks.
The question now facing the Block Party organizers and downtown merchants is where do they go from here. For that very reason, it's important that city officials, the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and the downtown business community gets together as Cormorant Shop and Block Party organizer Janice Lufkin Shea suggests, to achieve some consensus about ideas already being bandied about for the future.
Ideas on the table include a reversal of Main Street that city officials had been looking at for a test in October. But City Councilor and downtown businessman Joe Ciolino noted that, if downtown is to draw people from Gloucester Crossing, the Route 128 Extension pattern steers them out toward Eastern Avenue, where they would likely swing back toward Main Street. That suggests that a Main Street reversal may be moot, with increased signage directing drivers to and through the heart of downtown a far better — and less costly — option.
At the same time, the success of the block parties has shown how much people appreciate the character of downtown, when they are able to comfortably walk and not simply breeze through.
There can be too much of a good thing, so it wouldn't be wise to convert the street into a permanent pedestrian mall. But Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Hastings is onto something in suggesting that Main Street restaurants regularly host al fresco dining — clearly a top Block Party draw, and a formula that would allow the restaurants to expand. Several within the business community have mentioned the potential of bringing the weekly Cape Ann Farmers Market from Harbor Loop to Main Street next summer.
The truth is, the block parties — really pulled together by a grassroots group that has included Shea, Over the Bridge Tours' Linn Parisi, GoodMorningGloucester's Joe Ciaramitaro, Peter and Vickie Van Ness, City Councilor Jackie Hardy and Cape Ann Business Incubator's Erika Hansen — have rightfully helped turn discussions away from what downtown Gloucester used to be, and toward what it is today and can be for decades to come. But all of those ideas will need a concerted cooperative effort between the business community and the city regarding permits, licensing, signage, traffic and other issues.
There's no better time than now to get started on developing that type of overall plan for Main Street and downtown so that it could be implemented by next May,
This summer's block parties have laid a foundation for downtown's future. Let's start building toward an even brighter, more bustling downtown in 2010 and beyond.
