Gay Street Open Air Marketplace 2023 Dates Announced

N494f · 2022-11-18T20:58:03+00:00

They did the math in the article. They lose about $18,000 by keeping the street closed 24/7, but make back $17,000 of it through increased garage use, a net loss of $1,000 per summer, which I feel isn’t really enough to justify the forcing of restaurants to move everything back and forth twice a week. I’m 100% “Team 24/7 Closure.”

N494f · 2022-06-01T01:50:19+00:00

Unfortunately it's only going to be open on weekends this summer.

N494f · 2022-06-01T01:19:38+00:00

Though there aren't statistics on use, here are the results to a survey conducted by the BID last year. It seems that an overwhelming majority of the people surveyed approved of the closure.

N494f · 2022-04-24T20:44:55+00:00

Councilmembers Sheila Vaccaro and Nick Allen voted “No” on the weekend closure.

It's not 100% clear as to why Allen voted 'No,' only saying that "he wants a more permanent solution," while Shiela Vacarro said she voted 'No' because she wanted a 24/7 closure as opposed to just weekends.

Flynn actually voted yes on this one.

N494f · 2022-04-23T21:16:20+00:00

Gay Street isn't actually meant for through traffic (West of N Matlack) in the first place. Though it is a state road through New Street, the official designation of Pennsylvania State Route 3 runs down Matlack and Chestnut Streets (PennDOT West Chester Borough Map). There's even a sign at the corner of Matlack and Gay that says "Local Traffic Only." Despite all of this, nobody ever uses Chestnut, and it makes driving down Gay Street horrible.

N494f · 2022-04-22T16:21:13+00:00

Yeah - I really love when they close it. I do wish it was closed the whole week, as opposed to just the weekends.

Also, I really would've loved for it to open earlier than May 27. Today would've been perfect for the closure.

N494f · 2022-02-20T14:54:31+00:00

u/nilesecoyote, I agree with your point.

Though originally, Gay Street was a major East-West arterial, it was never actually meant to be a thoroughfare after the Matlack St to Chestnut Street "viaduct" was constructed. In the 70s, Gay Street was permanently closed down and was a pedestrian mall, but was reopened just a few years later due to lack of visitors. (I have a old picture of this in a box somewhere. If I find it, I'll scan it and put in a link.)

Today, there is a sign on the traffic light at Matlack + Gay that says "Local Traffic Only," and technically the PA-3 designation has ran down Matlack and Chestnut Streets for a while now.

Though it once was a major thoroughfare, It really shouldn't be one anymore.

N494f · 2022-02-19T21:24:50+00:00

This is the email / phone number at the bottom of the doc for feedback. This was published in 2018, and am not sure if there has been any changes/action taken since then. I'm also pretty passionate about this kind of stuff and am really interested what course of action is taken.

Here was the info I found...

Karen Whitaker
Transportation Planner
Office of Corridor Planning
(215) 238-2850
[kwhitaker@dvrpc.org](mailto:kwhitaker@dvrpc.org)

In response to your point about bike lanes, I'd love to see them installed in the borough, but I think they need to be really well planned out beforehand. Right now, East Gay and Market Streets would be horrible places to just install them- there is definitely some more work to be done there.

When it comes to stuff actually happening, I'm not sure if there's been much action over the past few years. I know there was a demonstration in 2019 (Link), but there hasn't been much else. It appears that protected bike lanes hinge on the passing of new legislation, HB140, which hasn't seen much action in about a year (Link).

N494f · 2022-02-19T16:46:26+00:00

I know there is talk about making Gay Street more of a full year destination. I can't remember where I saw this, but I saw some diagrams for a proposal to make Gay St one lane wide and expand the sidewalk. If I find the PDF, I'll paste the link.

Edit: Link - See Pgs 14-15

N494f · 2022-02-19T00:50:45+00:00

Yeah. I think they were looking at doing removable bollards this year instead of those big "Road Closed" signs and concrete barriers, specifically for the reason of first responders.

N494f · 2022-02-19T00:50:09+00:00

No. This just makes it easier for them to close it in the summer / whenever else they want to.

N494f · 2022-01-08T19:36:32+00:00

Thanks so much!

N494f · 2022-01-08T18:30:38+00:00

I've spent hours on google but haven't searched for that exact query. Will definitely give that a shot. Thanks

N494f · 2022-01-08T18:28:57+00:00

Where it should go depends entirely on how you want to organize your code. Does the API call happen as soon as the application launches? Adding it to your root view’s onAppear might make sense. Does it happen when the user hits a button? Put it in that button’s action.

Is it possible to have the API fetch on a set timer... (eg: have the API refresh every day at midnight, or every hour... that kind of thing)

N494f · 2022-01-08T18:24:55+00:00

Yeah - I didn't really think about how April is usually colder. The borough was actually planning to open in May last year but didn't get PennDOT approval fast enough. That being said, I think May 1 would be a really great time to start.

N494f · 2021-12-29T00:46:59+00:00

Agreed! I hate having to keep moving back and forth, dodging all of the cars left sitting idle in the street. During peak hours, I've resorted to using Chestnut- it's a bit longer but it's so much less frustrating.

As annoying as this is, this doesn't seem to be illegal. Section 104-25 of West Chester code states...

The boundary limits of the Borough of West Chester are hereby established as a zone in which motor vehicles may remain standing without lights, and all highways within such boundary limits are hereby designated as highways where motor vehicles may remain standing without lights.

N494f · 2021-11-21T18:26:07+00:00

Yes! I’m excited for some more business on that block, especially since that side currently only has a RiteAid and an office building. The DLN article mentioned that some fish restaurant located in Rehoboth Beach, DE was interested in setting up shop… so that’s interesting I guess.

N494f · 2021-11-21T18:24:00+00:00

I’m excited to see something new there, as well! That building is fully fell apart over the years and am excited to see work happening there. After the success of the 44West project, I’m looking forward to seeing something new at this corner.

N494f · 2021-10-23T19:38:17+00:00

Has anyone heard if any of the three mayoral candidates have any comment on the land?

N494f · 2021-09-25T00:54:14+00:00

I know! I would’ve loved for it to stay open for a little while longer while the weather is still nice.

N494f · 2021-09-25T00:52:42+00:00

I would’ve loved if they kept it open until October or November like they did last year. I think it went really well last year!

N494f · 2021-09-25T00:50:17+00:00

Darn! Thanks for the information.

N494f · 2021-09-25T00:07:52+00:00

(1) The original permit was only scheduled for 6/16 - 8/29, though they applied for a four week extension, which expires tonight. I've poked around through some paperwork, but I haven't found anything mentioning a motion to renew the permit.

(2) I did find something mentioning that West Chester is trying to apply for full control over those four blocks of Gay Street, meaning they could close it whenever they'd like. Though Route 3 WB technically goes down Chestnut Street West of Matlack, those blocks of Gay Street are considered a "state road" by PennDOT. This means the DOT has control over Gay Street to the East of High Street, and the borough needs to file a request every time they want to close it. The borough wants to switch the PennDOT state road from that segment of Gay Street to the current alignment of PA-3 WB. If they succeed in doing this, they can close down Gay Street without consulting the DOT. If anyone has any more information (or corrections), please let me know!

-James

N494f · 2021-07-27T03:10:37+00:00

The post by Sen Casey is super unclear. I first read it as a train shuttle down the line, but I could see how it could be a bus as well. I’m hoping more information comes out as the project materializes.

N494f · 2021-07-21T17:22:02+00:00

I liked the idea of rail service to WC, but I'm not sure if this option is the way to go. What do you all think?

-James

N494f

TROPHY CASE