Any big differences we should know about for this year?
The area of Pleasant Street between North State and Storrs is shut down to traffic, so what that allows is the bridging of North Main and South Main without having to wait for traffic and opens it up. . . . It increases safety and frees up police coverage to do other things. . . . There will be some designated spots for citizens that fit the requirement for handicapped accessibility on Pleasant Street, between State and Main, on the north side of the street. . . . For safety, we're also going to be paying closer attention to folks that are on skateboards, roller blades and bicycles because those are prohibited activities during the event.
What are the best ways to get downtown?
The best way to pass through the Main Street area, if folks want to grab Storrs Street from the north end behind the holiday inn, then they get a full north-south access of the entire Main Street. They'll be able to bypass the event by Storrs Street. People coming from the South can grab Storrs Street, right across from St. John's Church. Otherwise, North State Street is going to be the bypass road, though it'll get congested once you're closer to town . . . . Allow a few more minutes for travel, particularly during those times of the day when there is more travel.
Any other parking tips?
Capital Commons will be open . . . . I would recommend to people to be cognizant that because it's an encumbered area, I think people still want to park as close as they can, and sometimes folks want to squeeze into a spot that doesn't exist, and that may end up with a parking ticket, so to enhance their shopping experience and Market Days experience, make sure they park legally and if they have any problems to report, to notify an officer and we'll try to deal with that as quickly as possible. . . . One other thing: Parking is going to be prohibited in the Main Street area from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and any cars in the area, we're going to make a reasonable attempt to get a hold of the owner, but Main Street (Concord) might request a tow if they can't. Parking will be prohibited downtown from Wednesday night, all the way through to Saturday night.
What sort of safety tips can you give us?
Market Days, if it's not raining with an occasional thunder storm, is oppressively hot because of the July heat. I would recommend folks keep their pets at home, and remember that a lot of the shopping is done on Main Street and the asphalt really increases the heat, and if they're bringing kids, bring some hydration and water, and be prepared that it can get really hot during the day.
What are the most common calls or complaints that the CPD responds to?
The event is relatively problem-free. There are more nuisance type calls; we generally don't have a lot of issues. Certainly people ought to remember that there are no alcoholic beverages in public areas. Anything out in public will be strictly enforced.
What about bathrooms?
There will be restrooms set up on Capitol Street, near North Main, and the restrooms in Bicentennial Square will be open and available for use. So they'll have the port-o-johns on Capitol and the public restrooms up on Warren Street.
Anything else?
Just hope for good weather!
