ROSWELL, Ga. — Judie Raiford has made a living on Canton Street in Roswell, making and selling jewelry and art. She has more than 4,000 items she's personally made in her gallery, and she features 200 other artists from around Georgia and the United States.
Raiford has seen development up and down Canton Street for years and counted herself fortunate during the pandemic when many other businesses shut down.
"Business, like everybody else, is not great," Raiford said. "We’re still in business. Most of the galleries went under during the pandemic. I didn’t. I’m lucky, I own my building. That makes a big difference.”
The future of Raiford's gallery has her all fired up. On Tuesday night, Roswell City Council voted to form a task force that will include business owners and residents. The task force is comprised of four business owners, two residents and an at-large member.
The committee will have 45 days to conduct a study to see if the bustling Canton Street could use a makeover by shutting down car traffic to make it more pedestrian-friendly. Proposals have shown the city could shut down at least 200 feet of the street from East Valley to Elizabeth Way.
"Every time Canton Street is closed, I'm down 60 to 100 percent in revenue," Raiford said. "We can't stay in business if they do that to us all the time."
The city has previously closed Canton Street to vehicle traffic during Alive in Roswell and Music on the Hill events.
City councilmember Christine Hall cited safety concerns with the current amount of traffic passing through the popular Canton Street. She 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."
Concerned business owners fear already sparse parking options could dwindle by shutting down vehicle traffic, and delivery trucks would have a difficult time supplying businesses. Roswell voters previously voted to build a parking deck to alleviate congestion due to cars trying to find places to park. However, the city has not provided details on where and when that would be built.
Not everyone saw the task force selection as fair. City councilmember Sarah Beeson claimed there were times during the selection process that she was incredibly frustrated.
Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson said the council accepted 80 applications, and each councilmember had a say to whittle the group down to seven. The task force appointees were chosen behind closed doors, which riled up opponents to the process.
“We had the votes, we could’ve done this," Wilson said. "We could’ve done this a long time ago, but I didn’t feel like that was in the best interest of the city because there were real concerns by stakeholders, business people and residents. This does not mean this is a trojan horse, this is pretend, a fake job, we're going to do it anyway. It's a really genuine task force to address the issues and figure out if this could work."
Meantime, Raiford wants to keep Canton Street open to car traffic. She said the future of her shop and so many other businesses depend on it.
"I've never failed in anything and I don't plan to," Raiford said. "I'm responsible to the seven people that work here. I'm responsible to the 200 artists I represent. I'm responsible to myself, so I will stay in business no matter what it takes."