ROSWELL, Ga. — A community task force is calling for the City of Roswell to hire an independent urban planner before moving ahead with any plans to potentially transform a popular stretch of Canton Street into a pedestrian-only zone, closing it to vehicular traffic.
On Tuesday during a meeting at City Hall, the Canton Street Promenade Task Force voted to temporarily halt progress on the proposal due to a lack of data and analysis on the potential impacts. This includes learning more information about the economic, traffic, parking and public safety impacts.
Laine Bristow, chair of the seven-member volunteer task force, said they would be willing to reconvene if asked or requested by the Roswell mayor and city council. All members of the task force voted in favor of this motion.
Residents living on Canton Street previously expressed their concerns during the task force's first meeting.
“This is being shoved down our throats,” Judie Raiford, who owns a gallery along Canton Street, previously told the task force.
Raiford said that the earlier, temporary traffic bans on Canton Street during special events had negatively impacted her business by at least 60%. She vehemently opposes a permanent vehicle ban.
“This is a time when the city is taking a really good thing, Canton Street, and decided it needs to be fixed when it wasn’t broken before,” Raiford said.
City councilmember Christine Hall also previously cited safety concerns with the current amount of traffic passing through the popular Canton Street. She previously said the idea of making the district more walkable with a promenade could cut down on potential accidents.
"A more walkable space also brings more people to the area, and they can spend more time in the area," Hall said. "If they can spend more time in the area, they will likely spend more of their dollars in the area."