HOULTON, Maine — Although an issue with parking in Houlton’s downtown seems to have become less of a problem in the community over the past year, the municipal downtown committee is still focused on the best way to address potential problems while building up commerce in Market Square, according to town officials.
Nancy Ketch, the town’s community development director, said in a recent interview that the committee is still focused on potential parking issues in Market Square, although she said that, she “is not hearing as much about the issue as I used to.”
The topic of parking surfaced in Jan. 2016, when the town’s former police chief said that he regularly received complaints about the parking situation. The chief told town councilors that it was not shoppers who were taking up most of the limited parking spaces in downtown Market Square but rather the employees and employers who own and work at the stores in the historic district. Downtown business owners had been complaining about losing sales, saying that shoppers were having a difficult time finding available parking spots near their stores.
A downtown parking subcommittee was formed to examine the issue.
Ketch said that she believes that the sale of the Temple Cinema parking lot has helped the situation, opening up more spots for downtown shoppers. She also acknowledged that the layout of the downtown has changed over the past year, with several stores closing and the establishment of more office-type businesses. That has impacted the number of shoppers, she acknowledged. A better balance of downtown stores remains a priority for town officials and the downtown committee, she said.
“The most important thing is to keep our downtown vibrant,” said Ketch. “We also want to bring housing to that area as well, which I believe we are seeing success with. There are new apartment spots opening up in that area, and you need people living in your downtown to help keep it alive. I think that we are going to continue to see the face of the downtown evolve every few years, just as many other Maine communities are and we have in the past. The one thing that remains about Market Square is that it really is a jewel and a gathering place in this community, so maintaining it is essential.”
