This week, one year ago, the Portland City Council permitted restaurants to annex street and parking space on Exchange Street, Milk Street, Wharf Street and Dana Street in the Old Port. Restaurants on those streets built outdoor dining spaces that allowed them to stay open despite restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The dining spaces also let Portland residents eat out at our favorite restaurants once again. The policy was a success.

Diners have a meal al fresco last July on Dana Street, one of the Old Port streets that was closed to vehicle traffic to allow restaurants to stay open despite COVID restrictions. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

With restrictions on indoor dining no longer necessary, the original impetus for open streets is gone, but we should keep them open. By restricting the use of automobiles on a few blocks in the Old Port, where it difficult to drive or find parking anyway, the city created a new world of possibilities for the use of public space. If it is preserved and expanded, this thriving pedestrian zone will draw tourists and residents to Portland for years to come.

Portland should look to New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio made permanent and even expanded New York’s open streets program. He cited sustainability, breaking free from car culture and massive community support when he signed the legislation into law.

I call on the Portland City Council and City Manager Jon Jennings to make open streets a permanent feature of our city, and to add portions of Market Street, Silver Street and Pearl Street to the streets that we opened a year ago.

William Donaldson
Portland