What’s the ‘real’ issue behind the debate over closing Main Street in Corbin for events?

It’s a debate that has been waged for years in Corbin… “Why do we have to close Main Street when events are being held downtown?”

I should make clear right out of the gate that not every downtown event results in Main Street being shut down. In fact, most of them don’t. After reviewing the calendar of events for 2023, I think there are eight-or-nine that typically require Main Street to close while festivities are in progress. I am including Downtown Trick-or-Treat and the Annual Christmas Parade on that list, which, in my book, don’t really count due to the fact that one occurs near the end of normal business hours and the other takes place well after normal business hours.

I am also not going to take the Annual NIBROC Festival into consideration, because let’s face it, most small towns across the entire country have some sort of annual festival in-or-around their downtown area. That’s just part of life in America, so if you have a problem with that, well, I don’t really know what to tell you.

So, that leaves five-or-six other occasions throughout the course of a year that Main Street will be closed for the better part of a day in Corbin. Traffic will get re-routed, downtown businesses will decide if it’s in their best interests to stay open or not, and there will be complaining on Facebook. Always plenty of complaining on Facebook.

Instead of simply complaining, though, let’s take an objective look at this ongoing debate, and try to pinpoint what exactly is the real problem.

On one hand, you have the City of Corbin and the Corbin Tourism Commission, who are trying to offer folks some fun and exciting events to enjoy. Of course, we want to live in a community where people can look forward to attending special events with friends and family. I don’t know of anyone who would want to argue with that stance. At least, not realistically.

On the other hand, you have the downtown business owners. I took a close look at our current situation downtown recently, and of the 35-or-so businesses that are operating between the Fourth Street and Gordon Street intersections (the stretch that typically gets shut down for events), roughly a third of them are not open on Saturdays. Therefore, none of what we are discussing here really concerns them.

From what I can tell, another roughly third of these downtown businesses seem to really benefit from the increased foot traffic that usually accompanies a special event in downtown. As a matter of fact, I see many of them regularly promoting special deals on those days, or maybe doing something like setting tables up outside of their storefronts in order to interact with potential customers.

There are a handful of businesses that I am not as familiar with, but considering the type of services that they offer, I would imagine that most of their business is by appointment only, and probably takes place in other locations around town.

That leaves us with six-or-seven businesses that I feel may have a legitimate gripe when it comes to shutting down traffic on Main Street. Should these businesses just suck it up, and accept the fact that they are simply not going to make as much money on the weeks where a special event is occurring? Or should the city be more mindful of their situation, and make more of an effort to accommodate them when downtown events are scheduled to take place?

That’s a tough one, but in my opinion, the fault lies neither with the city, nor the business owners. I think the real issue is this idea that, in order to do business with anyone downtown, we MUST be able to park on the street, just outside the front door. Frankly, it’s gotten to be beyond ridiculous.

Yes, of course I understand that some folks have disabilities and/or mobility issues. For them, it is important to park as close as possible. This goes without saying. But when it comes to the majority of people around here who can walk just fine… I promise that it is not going to kill you to park your car somewhere off of Depot Street or Kentucky Avenue and simply walk around the block to get to where you need to be.

Seriously, it is going to be like 25-30 additional steps in most cases. A whopping few seconds more of your time. If you truly want/need a particular good or service that is offered downtown, then this seems like a very small thing to ask in order to get it. As long as I have lived and worked in this town, I have NEVER been able to understand the mindset that leads to people flat out refusing to come downtown if they know they are going to have to park anywhere other than right on Main Street. It’s absolutely crazy.

I personally enjoy our downtown events. I think they are fun, and are a big part of what makes this a good community to live and raise a family in. I also love our downtown businesses, though, and it bothers me that everyone can’t get on the same page when it comes to this issue.

I know that the Tourism Commission and City Hall are not purposely trying to hurt our local business people. I am also going to assume that the business owners who feel they are being forced to shut their doors during certain downtown events have tried everything in their power before reaching that final conclusion, including utilizing special promos and/or attending a city commission meeting to voice their concerns.

That leaves everyone else who would otherwise visit a downtown business on a Saturday morning or afternoon if it were not for the fact that they will have to park in one of the SEVERAL available lots on either Depot Street or Kentucky Avenue. Again, I believe herein lies the true problem.

Some of the inquiries I received that led to me writing this column included procedural questions regarding the shutting down of Main Street – what does that look like, who all is involved, who is-or-is-not consulted, who must be notified – and while all of those are valid questions, I also feel that it is somewhat of a moot point. The facts are: a) businesses are always going to be located downtown, and b) downtown festivals that require the use of Main Street are always going to be a thing.

And by the way, do not make the same old suggestion of, “Just move it one street over, onto Depot.”

No. We’ve seen time and time again that moving an event from Main Street to Depot Street only succeeds in accomplishing one thing – killing that event. It just doesn’t work, so stop saying it will.

What Depot Street IS good for is parking your vehicle on, so I encourage everyone reading this to come downtown. Come when there isn’t an event happening, and come when there is. I can almost guarantee that you will be able to find parking. There is a lot of parking available down here. Seriously.

If we all, and I mean the community as a whole, make it a point to do so, then I think we absolutely can have the best of both worlds. I don’t see any reason why our beloved downtown events can’t continue to be successful, while at the same time ensuring that this does not happen at the expense of any beloved downtown businesses.