Some of the downtown Wiscasset merchants who were against the Maine Department of Transportation project have decided that, rather than make the best of the changes – or move out quietly and let their neighbors make the best of the changes – they will use some vacancies downtown to spread a narrative about businesses fleeing the village.
Some of the storefronts at issue were vacant before construction. Some business owners vacated storefronts for other reasons.
For example, one business moved across Main Street after an SUV crashed into its previous location in December 2017. The family behind another business tells us they moved to Waldoboro because they live there.
Other vacancies are coincidental or temporary, while some spaces were vacant before construction and remain so now.
More to the point, any business owner who did leave downtown Wiscasset during construction did not give the project a chance.
They quit.
So be it. No one has to stay and do business in a town where they would rather not.
But it’s simply false to say the removal of Main Street parking destroyed the downtown economy when the parking was only removed Monday.
We have expressed mixed feelings about the construction all along. It will bring improvements to Wiscasset, but we fear the traffic lights on the way for Middle and Water streets have the potential to worsen gridlock rather than improve it.
However, the project, traffic lights and all, is coming. It is the will of Wiscasset voters – and many others who want to see change, any change, along the Route 1 bottleneck.
Many other downtown businesses are more optimistic about the construction and look forward to a bright future for the village. We stand with those businesses as they work to build that future.
We are sure they could all use a little boost in the meantime, however, so be sure to stop in Wiscasset when you go Christmas shopping.
The Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest will take place this weekend, with activities for families and discounts for shoppers. For more information, see page 3.
