City Retreat: Should Main Street Close Permanently?

City of Dunedin staff may start exploring the possibility of permanently closing a part of downtown Main Street to traffic.

It was an idea Commissioner Ron Barnette tossed out during a Feb. 28 commission retreat focused on planning Dunedin's future.

Barnette asked if anyone had ever considered permanently blockading the area of Main Street between Douglas and Highland avenues, "in light of encouraging outdoor activity." 

All the commissioners liked the idea of creating more open space and walkability in downtown Dunedin.

"There's plenty of communities making a commercial area into a pedestrian area," Commissioner Julie Scales said. "I think it’s worth looking at (creating) a section of downtown where we replace cars with people." 

But some commissioners say the move could cause some potential unintended consequences, such as diverting traffic and parking to surrounding neighborhood streets. 

"Parking is one of the big issues that we have to get our hands around," Mayor Dave Eggers said. 

What's your take? Is blocking part of Main Street to traffic a good direction for downtown Dunedin? Are there unforeseen consequences that should be addressed?