ROSWELL, Ga. — The latest step in the Canton Street closure saga of Roswell has city leaders and the yet-to-be-disbanded task force in agreement that they need more information to understand how closing the busy street would affect businesses and the community.
Roswell city leaders confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that a Friday morning meeting had both the seven-member task force and Roswell City Council moving to hire an analyst before making a decision to temporarily close Canton Street to cars for several weeks.
The proposed closure itself has been a sticking point for business owners and residents alike since it was first announced by Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson in April.
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As a debate amongst community members and leaders unfolded in the intervening months following Wilson’s announcement, city council meetings held public discussions about the potential closure.
The plan, as proposed by Wilson, said Canton Street would be closed to cars and other vehicles but open to pedestrians from Elizabeth Way to Webb Street from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
While Wilson said it was a trial run for future planning, residents pushed back due to what they called a lack of transparency and public input, though not all in the community were against the plan.
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As previously reported, the mayor has repeatedly cited safety concerns in the bustling area, and a way to boost business for the shops there, as reasons to close the street to vehicles.
While the task force was given 45 days to make recommendations, they instead moved to stop their work less than a month in, citing a need for more planning and an urban planning study.
Friday’s city council meeting had both the task force and council aimed at the same goal, being t get more planning data before making a decision.
“Roswell’s mayor and city council agreed in principle to follow the recommendation of a 7-member task force to adequately study the impacts of a potential closure of Canton Street to vehicular traffic,” according to a spokesman for the task force. “Roswell leaders say they would like to complete a city-wide economic study first before moving ahead with any trial closure on Canton Street.”
City officials echoed the sentiment.
“Mayor and Council agreed today that they would like the City’s economic development team to finish its work on the City’s economic development plan which includes Roswell’s downtown area before moving forward with an independent planner to study the economic impact of a trial open streets promenade on Canton Street,” a city spokeswoman said. “The City’s economic development team is slated to finish the City’s economic development plan by the end of this year. At that time, Mayor and Council will consider hiring an independent planner to study the traffic and economic impacts of the promenade.”
As it stands, the next steps for the potential closure and other developments for Canton Street are set as yet to be determined.
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