GOSHEN — The U.S. 33 Northern Connector will help alleviate chronic traffic congestion downtown but could hurt businesses in the area.
The new road on the northeast side of town will move heavy traffic away from Madison and Main streets when it opens in October 2018. But while downtown streets will be less congested for motorists, downtown businesses will be losing a key source of customers.
There’s no telling what impact lower traffic counts will have on local businesses in and near Main Street.
Goshen’s downtown, a stretch of four blocks along Main and Fifth streets — and expanding toward the Millrace — has gone through a restoration process for more than a decade. Buildings that were vacant along Main Street are occupied again and the streetscape has changed, turning downtown into a strong business district and a visitor-friendly destination.
The city, Goshen Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Goshen Inc. agree that better signage is important to help guide drivers to downtown, chamber President David Daugherty said.
“Removing that traffic can have a significant impact and the distance removed doesn’t matter,” he said. “Before they open that bypass, they need to have signage directing people to downtown Goshen. It needs to be very well done, very intentional, designed to get people driving in cars to downtown Goshen, to consider taking that road over to downtown. If you don’t (have good signage) you lose the opportunity to attract people who have never seen downtown.”
Daugherty is concerned not only about the downtown business district, but also about Linway Plaza and the Old Bag Factory, two pockets of local businesses that are already not visible to many travelers who drive through Goshen.