Gay Street in West Chester to Be Transformed into ‘Open-Air Marketplace’

According to West Chester Mayor Dianne Herrin, Gay Street will be closed to cars and transformed into an “open-air marketplace” as the region begins its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, writes Patricia Madej for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“The real, underlying motivation here was to provide a place where people can physically distance and feel safe coming back to our town and dining and shopping,” said Herrin.

The plan to close four blocks of Gay Street – from Matlack to Darlington streets – to allow outside dining was approved by West Chester Borough Council during a special meeting earlier this week. This allows restaurants to extend table seating into the street and allows retailers to set up tents for shoppers.

The start date of the closures depends on PennDOT approval, but Herrin is hoping to have the street closed to cars within the next two weeks.

“We’re going to monitor it, we’re going to refine it, we’re going to see how it goes,” said Herrin. “If it goes well, we may then consider just keeping it closed.”

Read more about in The Philadelphia Inquirer here.

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