BANGOR, Maine — At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangor, like many other cities across the state, launched several measures to help businesses survive.
A survey conducted by the Downtown Bangor Partnership found downtown Bangor businesses and residents generally want these measures to return.
78 percent of Bangor businesses want 15-minute parking spots to be a permanent or seasonal feature downtown. 28 percent of respondents would also like parklets to be present year-round, 59 percent would like them to be out seasonally.
The closure of Broad Street saw the most negative feedback as 43 percent didn't want the closure to come back. However, 57% of those who responded indicated their support for a permanent or seasonal closure of the street.
"I think they told us a lot about where we were kind of hitting the mark in helping businesses," Downtown Bangor Coordinator Betsy Lundy said. "Also, a little bit forward thinking about what we can do moving forward both in response to the pandemic, but then as an evolving downtown."
A total of 228 community members including business owners, residents, downtown employees, and downtown visitors completed the survey.
Lundy told NEWS CENTER Maine the 15-minute parking spots will remain in downtown Bangor, but the city will work on removing half of them for the winter.